Ms Monday and Mr Bernhard
by The Author's Mighty Pen
Summary: Recruited to Naval Intelligence by Admiral Robert Crawley, Commander John Bates (codename: Bernhard) enters the world of espionage during the Battle of Britain. Working with him is Crawley's top agent, Anna Smith (codename: Monday), as they try to uncover German spies in Allied territory and bring Hitler to his knees.
1. Bernhard

He straightened the cuffs on his jacket and pulled his arm up to check his watch again. He stepped back, nodding politely at the women in nursing uniforms who did not give him a second glance. Sighing he pulled his collar up, glaring at the drizzling rain that worked its way to soak everything slowly.

"Worse than water torture." He muttered as a car pulled in next to him on the pavement and only his quick movements avoided the dousing the wheels kicked up from a puddle.

A man in uniform hurried out of the car, leaving the engine running while pulling the boot open. "Sorry I'm late sir."

"It's no matter. We're only fighting a war here." He handed over his two suitcases and the duffle before grabbing his attaché case and satchel. "Hitler won't mind waiting another ten minutes for us."

"The Admiral's a stickler about the condition of his wheels sir." The chauffer opened the back door and the man ducked inside, removing his hat as he did so. "If you don't mind I promise I can get us to headquarters fast enough so you won't have missed a thing."

"Top speed then."

"Craick." He closed the door, then the boot, and climbed behind the wheel, "Just promise you won't chunder all over the backseat sir."

"I've got a strong stomach private." The man waited a moment before leaning forward, "What is your name?"

"Private Branson sir."

"You sound a little too Emerald Isle for this job."

"I worked for the Admiral before they called him back to active duty. The Army wouldn't take me due to a heart arrhythmia but he insisted I could drive like the devil was at me heels so I took the job." Branson adjusted his mirrors and then pointed over his shoulder, "Might want to buckle up sir, there's a reason the Admiral wouldn't take no for an answer about me as his wheel man."

The man sat back as Branson peeled away from the pavement, ratcheting his speed up immediately and sending the wheels spinning a moment before splashing a group of uniformed Army officers. Shaking fists and howling curses filled the rear window. Branson laughed and shifted up gears, weaving through the traffic with ease.

The man in back put a hand to the window to hold himself in place before whistling. "You weren't exaggerating."

"I only exaggerate about two things sir."

"What are those?"

"What shoes I wear and the cars I own."

The man raised an eyebrow as they took a turn on two wheels, "Not your number of women or your size?"

"No need to lie about those. If a girl wants to know then she'll find out the truth." Branson took another sharp turn and corrected as a car blared its horn at him. "I never needed any help in that department anyway."

"Luck of the Irish then?"

"You could say that sir." Branson steered through a light, barely missing the red that sent a lorry screeching to a halt. "What about you sir, if I may ask?"

"Tit for tat I think," The man gritted his teeth as Branson pulled the brakes for a second to avoid hitting the fender of another vehicle and then burnt rubber to get away. "I don't lie on either account because blokes know you're lying and women don't want to hear it."

"Then do you lie about anything else?"

"Only whether or not I actually loved my ex-wife."

"The one from the papers sir?" The man met Branson's eyes in the rear view mirror, "Not to pry but I recognized you from the orders about the general inquiry. I didn't want to say anything because it's your business but you've got me curious and I thought I better let you know sir. Avoids surprises."

"Thank you for the heads up then." The man waited a beat, "And I did love her, despite what I told anyone who asked during her trial."

"Then your 'Ms. Bernhard' really did sell you up the river on that?"

"More than once but that was the first time with state secrets."

"She tie you to the bed to steal them sir?"

"Stole the key, actually." The man put a hand forward as Branson yanked the car to a halt at the gates to a nondescript building. "I risked going to the loo in my own house."

"Never trust the loo sir," Branson leaned over the seat, "And I was rooting for you. Us leprechauns got to stay together, know what I mean?"

"I'll hold you to that Branson." The man shook Branson's hand.

"Thank you sir but in here it'll be Thursday."

"Sorry?"

"Admiral's orders. Every member of his elite staff's got a day of the week assigned to them. Keeps our activities right and secret when all the reports read things like, 'Thursday got himself into a spot of trouble out on the piss but managed to detain three suspected German spies'. Things like that avoids our permanent records getting those little black marks."

"Then you're Thursday I imagine?"

"Only here sir," Branson turned front again as the gates fully opened, "Only here."

The man sat back and sighed, "Any days of the week left for me?"

"Wouldn't know about that sir. I only drive the Admiral and now you. Consider yourself lucky, I almost stripped the tires for you and that must mean you're someone important." Branson shrugged, "More than the stripes on your coat anyway."

"What makes you say that?"

"Other Commanders had to find their own way here. One even took a cab." Branson pulled the car into a space and parked it, "The Admiral must think the world of you sir."

"He thinks something." The man waited as Branson opened the door, "Thank you Bran- Thursday."

"My pleasure sir," Branson saluted, "I do hope I get to drive you again. It's not often I meet someone with stripes and a personality."

"I hazard it's usually one or the other for you then?"

"Most times sir." Branson winked, "The Admiral will've-"

"Thank you Thursday," A rather severely cheek-boned woman exited the lift directly ahead of them and walked in a pair of heels that were definitely higher than regulation, "I'll escort Commander Bates down."

"Very good ma'am." Branson saluted with his hat, "Where'll I put his bags?"

"The Admiral wants them in the rooms at the top of headquarters. Make sure Carson or Hughes get those ready for him."

"Yes ma'am."

"Commander Bates?" The man turned to the woman as she extended her hand, "Second Officer Crawley but please refer to me as Friday."

"Code names on the premises then?" Bates shook her hand, "I do hope I can put in a bid for Saturday, that's my favorite."

"All the weekdays and ends are taken so you'll have to see what the Admiral says." She looked him over, "I guess you'll do as is."

"I aim to please."

"I hope so. Follow me." She walked back to the lift and Bates removed his hat, holding his attaché and satchel in one hand with his hat in the other.

They entered the lift and she pulled the door closed before hitting the bottom most button three times. The lift jerked and then descended. Bates surveyed the area for a moment before speaking.

"And what is it you do here, Officer Crawley."

"It's Friday, sir, and I work as the personal secretary and liaison for the Admiral. I handle dispatches, mail, requests, orders, and logistics. I've been his right hand for years. He can't do a thing without me."

"I knew I recognized you," Bates faced her and she raised an eyebrow, "Mary Crawley, his oldest."

"Yes, Commander Bates but here I'm Friday." She rolled her shoulders, "As long as you're here I'll also be operating as the liaison for your operations as well. Come to me with anything you need and I'll see to it."

"So you'll be my girl Friday?"

She faced him, her mouth tight, "Call me 'my girl' again Commander Bates and I promise you won't be here long enough for me to be anything to you." The lift stopped and she pulled the doors back, "Welcome to headquarters."

Bates stepped out of the lift and blew out a long breath at the sight of the manic chaos in the room. Men and women rushed about with stacks of paper and folders while other debated over a map on a table or pointed to the mounted wall map. Some of them drank from cups still steaming while others shouted across the room or into telephones. More than a few had rolled up sleeves and bags under their eyes. Others simply appeared like one wrong blink and they might fall asleep standing up.

"Is it always like this?"

"No," Mary led him through the melee and everyone seemed to part the seas for her, "Sometimes it's worse."

They entered a small alcove and she pointed to the left, "That's my desk. You need anything you bring it there and nowhere else. I don't expect to tramp all over headquarters looking for a bit of paper because you couldn't put it where it belongs."

"Understood." Bates chuckled.

She turned on him outside the two large wooden doors. "Do you find this all amusing, Commander Bates?"

"My mother always taught me it's better to laugh than cry when faced with an impossible situation, Friday, and so that's what I'm doing." Bates gestured forward with his hand, "I think I should see the Admiral now, Second Officer."

She scowled at him and then opened the doors. Bates nodded to her and strode in to see the Admiral, a man about his size with grayer hair, shouting into his own telephone.

"I don't bloody well care who's fault it is but I have an officer who-" He stopped when he saw Bates and gathered his breath, "Never mind."

"Glad to see nothing's changed Admiral Crawley." Bates smiled as Crawley hung up the phone and came around the desk to shake hands, Crawley pumping for all he was worth.

"I've gone about half mad trying to get you here and they all think so." Crawley looked over Bates's shoulder, "Thank you Mary, that'll be all."

She pulled the door shut with a snap and Bates jumped a little, "She hasn't changed."

"Mary never will. But it's only been worse since Dunkirk." Crawley shook his head, "It's a nasty business."

"I did read Flight Squadron Commander Matthew Crawley went down but I thought he was taken prisoner." Bates looked to Crawley who only shook his head, "I'm so sorry Robert."

"It's her I'd feel sorry for if she'd let me. But she doesn't let anyone. It's all hard shell and armor with her." Robert lowered his voice, "She insisted on coming into work the next day like nothing'd changed. She believes the only way to honor him is to fight the good fight and beat Hitler. If she could she'd probably kill him with her bare hands."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Bates put his things down on an empty chair, "And how's the fighting from here?"

"It's a mess. The whole thing's been cocked up from the start and I inherited the bloody mess from someone else too concerned with retiring to even bother fighting the war we have here." Robert took his seat behind the desk and pointed to a chair for Bates to sit. "Lord Bloody Sinderby, Earl of Durham. Cock up."

"He seemed eager to get me in prison and very capable while he did it." Bates rolled his shoulders, "Though I guess he sufficed himself with my ex-wife."

"Sinderby was an ass and we all know it." Robert scoffed, "Man couldn't tie his own shoelaces without help."

"I think he had help but not with his shoelaces." Bates waited a moment and Robert laughed.

"Point is, the bugger's gone and now we're cleaning up with what little he left us best we can and everyone's on our backs for why we can't do it faster."

"And that's why you brought me in sir?"

"I need someone I trust."

"Even after all that?"

"Especially after all that." Robert leaned over the desk, "With one of their spies nicked the Jerries'll be thinking the last place you'll be is near state secrets again. That makes you the obvious tool for them."

"You want me to act like they can turn me?" Bates shook his head, "I've already seen the inside of a cell Robert and while I respect you-"

"It's got all the right rubber stamps Bates and you're the only one they'd be stupid enough to go after." Robert tapped his fingers on his desk, "This is what I need you for. They need a target ready to take back what they lost from King and country and we need a way to track how they pass intelligence."

"I'm a plant?"

"You're my plant and I treat them well."

"I've seen your house Robert, all your plants die."

"Those are my wife's," Robert waved a hand, "I'm talking about being in the thick of it again Bates. Don't you want that?"

Bates scratched at his head, "To be honest I was hoping for a quiet discharge so I could go purchase a little cottage outside of Belfast and find a lovely Irish woman to make love to every night."

"Commit to this, Bates, and promise you won't regret it." Robert grinned, "Even if I can't promise a lovely Irish woman will make love to you on a nightly basis."

"An English one?"

"Would you risk Mary?" Both of them laughed and Robert held out a hand, "What do you say?"

"When do I start?" Bates shook Robert's hand and then both stood.

"Right now Bernhard."

"Bernhard?"

"Why not use your wife's codename? She's in the can and we want others to join her. Fish with their bait and all that."

"I never did like fishing." Bates grimaced, "But since you apparently already gave away all the days of the week."

"There's only seven to go around and unfortunately you're number eight on this team." Robert led him to the door, "But welcome to it."


	2. Monday

She took the handkerchief to her forehead again, sighing in frustration as she continued to dab black marks from her skin. The lift doors opened and she walked out, still scrubbing at her face before eventually throwing the handkerchief in a wastepaper basket. Someone made a noise of complaint but she waved them off.

Mary looked up as the other woman approached and held out a tissue, "You're got something on your face."

"Like I haven't noticed?" The woman reached into her bag and dropped a stack of files on Mary's desk. "Happy Christmas."

"You got all these?"

"And I didn't even have to get my knickers off for them." She smiled as Mary leaned back in her chair, flipping through a file. "I think he's a berk but that's what happens when you underestimate someone."

"Must be because you're blonde." The woman turned to see a man at the desk across from Mary's.

"What?"

"Your hair," He barely glanced up, pointing to her hair, "Men tend, on the whole, to think women with blonde hair are friskier and much more likely to be promiscuous. As well as believing you're probably not too bright."

"Speaking from experience?"

"I don't usually go for blondes." The man put down his file, "I tend to find brunettes are my vice. Blondes, at least the ones I've met, flirt with an obnoxiously high pitched giggle that puts me off."

"It works."

"And that's why I don't trust it Ms.-"

"Monday." She walked over to shake his hand.

"Not my best day of the week."

"It's not anyone's Mr.-"

"Bernhard."

"Bernhard?" Monday raised an eyebrow, "Like the convicted German spy?"

"It means hardy and strong."

She smirked, "Pick that yourself then?"

"The Admiral gave it to me."

"And you let him?" Monday leaned over his desk and he folded his arms over his chest while leaning back in his chair. "That's disappointing."

"How so?"

"I was hoping it was your way of hinting at something." She looked down at him, "But I guess not."

"I assure you, I don't need to hint at that."

"You're very confident."

"Never heard complaints. Unlike having a moniker matching the worst day of the week."

"I can't apologize for taking the name of the day of the week that kicks everyone in the ass. Which, incidentally, is what I do Mr. Bernhard." She tsked,"Sorry you came on too late because it looks like they ran out of days of the week to give us a clue about your personality."

"They offered me a month, to start a new trend, but I decided I'm too classy to limit myself by a temporal designation. It wouldn't suit to put myself in a box."

"I imagine you don't do well in boxes."

"I did once."

"Captured by the enemy?"

"It was recreational." Bernhard winced, "She was a bit extreme."

"I'd say so." Monday eyed Bernhard up and down, "Somehow I imagine that woman was wearing quite the leather get up when she convinced you to test out this box of hers."

"She might've been."

"I also suspect she wasn't your type."

Bernhard leaned forward to put his face closer to hers, "What makes you say that, Ms. Monday?"

"You'd want her naked. The leather'd distract you. The fakeness of the power struggle in that situation." Monday shrugged one shoulder, "Anytime you want a real power struggle and care to test that scenario again, just let me know."

"I just might, if you're offering." He lowered his voice, moving close to her ear, "I'm getting back to active duty now that I'm not married."

"Being married doesn't stop other people."

"I'm monogamous."

"Been some time for you then has it?" Monday felt her breath catch a little as their eyes met.

"Getting back into the game on that front."

"Well as long as it's my front I don't think I'd mind." She ran her tongue over her teeth and watched him swallow. Risking a look down she saw his jacket and trousers failed to hide his excited reaction. "And I don't think you'll mind either Mr. Bernhard."

"No," She raised an eyebrow, impressed by how collected he kept himself in his response, "I don't think I'd mind at all."

"Next time you're free-"

"Monday!" Monday spun on the spot, saluting to Admiral Crawley as he left his office, "What's all over your face?"

"Soot from the escape sir. The chimneys here still pump out coal."

"Well clean yourself up. We've got a briefing in ten minutes I don't need you looking like a chimney sweep." He stopped, "Oh, this is Commander Bates. He'll be going by Bernhard while here."

"Pleasure," She extended her hand again and Bates took it, following her lead on acting as though they just met. "Anna Smith, intelligence officer. But you can call me Monday."

"A pleasure Ms. Smith."

"Monday," She corrected, "I'm sure you'll get used to the code names Mr. Bernhard."

"I'll do my best, Ms. Monday."

She grinned at him as Admiral Crawley turned his back to look at the file stack on Mary's desk. "Friday, get all this to Tuesday as quick as you can and have him meet us for the briefing as well."

"Yes sir." Mary grabbed the files and hurried past them as Admiral Crawley turned back to Anna and Bates.

"I need you two to get acquainted rather quickly I'm afraid."

"Sir?" Anna crossed her arms over her chest.

"We're sticking Bernhard out there as a plant and I need something more than disgruntled and degraded military officer."

"I thought I played that role well," Bates feigned a pout and Anna sniggered behind her hand. "Is it not enough?"

"We need someone they can use against you." Admiral Crawley pointed at Anna, "We're thinking Ms. Monday takes on a persona they can twist against you should they not trust you coming to them with information."

"You think they'd smell a rat, sir?"

"I think they'd do any number of things and I want to be prepared for all of them." Admiral Crawley went to go back into his office, "And clean off your face Monday. It looks like blackface and I find it repulsive."

"Yes sir."

Anna disappeared to the bathroom and finished scrubbing her face in time to take her seat at the meeting. Admiral Crawley had them gathered around a table map of London with Mary behind him taking notes on something while arguing with a tall, dark-haired man. Anna joined them and grabbed Mary's arm.

"Can we try to be kind to Mr. Tuesday please?"

"If Mr. Tuesday could get his reports in on time I'd be more than chuffed to be kind to him." Mary glared at him, "That's the third time this week. Do you know what that means?"

"It's Wednesday?" Tuesday smiled and Anna sniggered with the joke. "Come off it now Friday, I'll have it to you by the end of the day."

"I needed it by this morning." Mary pointed across the table to where Bates squinted at a section of street, "Bernhard already understands the process."

"Why'd we name him Bernhard when 'Wednesday' is still free?" Tuesday looked around the table, "Unless I missed something and there is a Wednesday."

"There is," Admiral Crawley interrupted, "She's the chemist."

"I thought she was the chef." Bates broke in, "Did I confuse Mrs. Patmore with someone."

"No," Mary rolled her eyes like she had to explain something simple to a child, "Mrs. Patmore's the chef because she's the chemist."

"And damn good at both but she only calls herself Mrs. Patmore when she cooks. I don't deal with her chemistry so I never call her Wednesday." Tuesday reached a hand across the table to Bates, "Sorry we've not been properly introduced. Friday here likes to take all my time. Henry Talbot, Tuesday."

"Pleasure. John Bates, Bernhard." Bates straightened, "I'm starting to feel a little left out to be honest."

"Or else set apart." Anna shrugged at him, "We need someone to keep us centered."

"I'm not one to help anyone set their moral compass." Bates tapped the map, "But intelligence suggests we've got a contingent of pro-fascists here that could be a good place to start."

Anna leaned over the table and shook her head, "That's a dead end. Bloke took me there once and it's all young and restless. There's nobody worth our time there since they're not even worth the Germans' time."

"Any suggestions then?"

"The information I intercepted this morning puts activity here," Talbot dragged his finger in a circle, "Just south of the East India Dock."

"Tuesday works our code breaking here so I trust he's on the up and up with this one," Admiral Crawley turned to Mary, "And the other reports?"

"Seem to support Tuesday's theory," She shot him a look from the corner of her eyes but he only winked at her. "We could send Monday in to test it out."

"A little blonde hoping to topple the home front?" Admiral Crawley shook his head, "Much as I respect Monday I don't think she'll sell this one."

"Disgruntled soldier won't do either sir." Anna ventured, "Unless Bernhard here has another persona."

"Public enemy fit me before," Bates shrugged, "I could be dishonorably discharged to add to my personal ire."

"I could sell that." Mary noted, "Pass enough information that his work lately has been processing discharge after his stint in prison."

"He needs something else." Anna studied Bates a moment before nodding, "He needs a prostitute."

"Excuse me?" Admiral Crawley's jaw dropped.

"He needs to be at his lowest." Anna pointed to Bates, "He's just been dishonorably discharged, more than a few people know about his background with his wife, and Lord Sinderby didn't exactly make him the face of the movement to keep the home fires burning. We put him somewhere where only the low go and then they scoop him up."

"Make them think I owe them everything so I'm dangling on their hook?"

"Just like that." Anna smiled at Bates, "You're quick."

"Only when I think, I promise." Bates responded and Anna felt herself get a little hot under the collar.

"We get Bernhard the cover we need." Admiral Crawley turned to Mary, "We find a little flat, preferably near the docks so it's just the right kind of dump for an illicit sexual encounter."

"We need a scene." Anna jerked her head toward Talbot, "He's right about the bars but they need a reason to see him."

"I thought that's why you suggested a lady of the night." Admiral Crawley shifted uncomfortably.

"That's only part of it." Anna hid her grin at the Admiral's awkwardness. "We use the bar to get his story around. Sobbing into his drink and all that. We plant Barrow and Thursday to start a fight so they see his skills and then put him in their grip with a proper fleece."

"Who's doing the fleecing?" Bates pointed to Anna, "She's right about needing something to show them the lowest but it can't be just any prostitute."

"Worried about risking a few VDs for King and country Bernhard?" Talbot snickered and Bates nodded.

"I risked that already with my wife, thank you, and I don't happen to like the idea of risking it again. Take my life but leave what matters."

"Interesting perspective Bernhard." Admiral Crawley turned to Anna, "I know you don't know Bernhard well but do you think you could sell it?"

"Better than any other hooker can and this way we control the exit." Anna shrugged across the table at Bates, "I guess we'll get to know one another soon enough Mr. Bernhard."

* * *

Anna listened to the shattering glass from inside the bar and winced when a table broke. She could see shapes moving in the shadows on the window from across the street and pulled her thin coat closer; to partially conceal the small dress she wore. A moment later Thursday flew out the door and Bates tumbled after him. A man with dark hair, decidedly less coifed than when he entered, stumbled after them as the barman and his large friends held the doorway.

"Don't ever come round here again or I'll take another go at you lot."

Anna jumped a little as the door slammed shut and watched Bates pick himself out of the street. He shoved at the other man and tripped a little over Thursday before walking down the street in a less than straight line. Thursday and the other man came up to Anna, the latter massaging his jaw.

"He can punch."

"But did he sell it Barrow? That's why you risked your perfect face remember." Anna looked up at him as Thursday whistled at them.

Both turned to see two men exit the bar. The two pointed at the retreating Bates before stubbing out their still glowing fags to follow him. Barrow's face moved to self-adulation, "I think that answers your question Monday."

"Don't get too pleased with yourself," Anna admonished him, rolling her shoulders, "You're still working to earn your name."

"A sock to the jaw's not enough?"

"I risked a garrote in Paris for mine so I hardly think one bar fight just south of the East India Docks'll do it." Anna pointed at Thursday, "Get back to headquarters and report or Friday'll have your balls in a vice."

Barrow and Thursday moved down another street as Anna adjusted course to head Bates off. She saw the other two men halt a minute as Anna put herself right in Bates's path. He smelled like cheap beer but Anna knew most of it soaked his clothes as his eyes looked far too alert to be inebriated.

"Where you going sailor?" She put her hands on his chest, "Sure I can't interest you in something?"

"I'm not a sailor anymore," He moved her hands and pushed away but Anna tugged on his sleeve.

"Then let me help you."

"Unless you can help me forget it won't matter."

"I can do that." Anna glanced over his shoulder to see the two men, "I promise you'll forget everything else but me."

Bates resisted another minute before allowing her to drag his lips to hers. In that moment he froze a second before his hands moved to her waist. Anna invested whole-heartedly into the kiss and felt him give way to her, his lips soft on hers.

They kept it up a moment more before she broke off, "Convinced?"

"I am now." He went in again but she stopped him.

"I've got a place just up there." She pointed, "Care to join me?"

Bates nodded and Anna guided him to a building just up the street. They entered and Anna saw the two men taking position by a lamppost outside. She hit the button for the lift and tugged Bates to follow her in before drawing the grate so they could ascend.

"You seem practiced at all this." Bates said as Anna worked her coat off her shoulders.

"The art of seduction is one of my many skills Bernhard," She whispered and wrapped her arms over his neck. "I'm sure you have some too."

"I'd like to show you some, if you don't mind." He kissed behind her ear and Anna held to him tighter.

"We are supposed to sell them on it." Anna nipped at his ear and felt him start. "Personally, I want to see if you really are as hardy and strong as you claim."

"I don't disappoint."

"I'll be the judge of that."

The lift stopped and Anna guided him to the room. She dug in her pocket for the key and opened the door to the flat that faced the street. Anna closed the door behind them and grabbed Bates.

With her arms around his shoulders again she pulled him close to whisper, "We need to open the window or they won't know it's this room. Can you get us over there?"

"I can get us anywhere you like." Bates pushed her back to the wall, "How soon?"

"At your leisure Mr. Bernhard." Anna held his gaze, "But we'll need to be fast enough so they watch me sneak out and leave you penniless."

"Then you won't get the full works." Bates complained, kissing at her neck as Anna sighed into it.

"It'll have- have to be enough." Anna raised her leg to his hip and rubbed herself against him. "For now anyway."

"There's always later."

"Yes there is." She agreed as one of his hands held her leg there before lifting her to wrap her legs around his waist. "Think of this is a sampler."

Bates did not respond. Instead he kissed her, guiding them across the room to the window. He worked it open while attacking her mouth and holding her to him with one hand. His other hand worked up her small skirt to trace along her thighs.

With the cold air blowing on them Anna felt the hair on her arms stand on end and when she rubbed her chest against his she knew he felt her hardened nipples. He broke the kiss a moment to grin at her before licking his lips. He lowered his head, pressing her to the wall, and sucked at one breast through her shirt. Anna gasped with his action and then again as his hand at her thigh ran over her center.

"You're not wearing any knickers Monday." He growled and ran another finger along her. "You truly do sink into character."

"It helps to fully commit." Anna moaned as he sunk his finger into her, "How committed are you?"

"Enough to know they're still outside." Bates worked another finger inside her, "And that you're possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"Likewise." She risked a hand lower, flipping the catch on his belt and then opening his trousers, "I'm sorry this'll be so quick."

"Me too." He kissed at her throat again, sucking at her pulse, "In different circumstances I'd take an hour just to kiss over your whole body."

"Shit," Anna worked his trousers and underwear to his knees, "It's now or never Bernhard."

"Only if you call me John," Bates moved closer to her, "I don't want you screaming any other name in a minute."

"I'll do my best." She gasped, "But hurry please."

"My pleasure." Bates moved his fingers and drove into her.

Anna threw her head back and groaned as Bates hit her deep before pulling almost all the way out. He plunged in again and added a roll of his hips to it. She clawed at his shoulders as his fingers stroked in time with his motions.

"Almost there?" He grunted and worked her, kissing over her neck and then to her breasts, pulling them into his mouth as she struggled to breathe.

"Nearly."

"Good." He hit her as deep as he could go again, "Because I think you've ruined me."

"What?" Anna could barely think.

"After this no one else'll do it for it ever again."

"I'm a prostitute with a heart of gold." Anna managed and her next sound came out more like a sob, "Please John."

"Please what?"

"Finish it for me."

"Yes ma'am." Bates pressed at her and Anna shrieked as her whole world erupted in flames. She only barely felt him finish and then sag into her against the wall. They both stood close, shivering and shuddering as their bodies recovered.

When he found enough breath he made sure she could stand before stepping back. She heaved in to fill her lungs, still standing at the wall before smiling at Bates. "That was probably one of the better times of my life."

"Really?"

"No one else has been quite as efficient while also being conscientious." Anna risked a look out the window before moving her skirt down, "And I think you're considerably better endowed than the last one."

"I'll take all those compliments." Bates pulled her hand to bring her closer, "They still watching?"

"Yes," Anna draped her arms over his shoulders, "I'm going to have to hit you pretty hard to make it convincing."

"Just miss the sweet spot on the back of my head please?" He looked over her face before looking in her eyes, "You've got the most beautiful eyes Ms. Monday."

"Anna, please." She smiled at him, running a finger over his mouth, "After that I think you can call me whatever you like but I'd prefer the next name you shout in ecstasy to be mine, if it's all the same to you."

"Whatever you want." He kissed her hand, "Ready?"

She reached around him to her bag and then slapped something on the back of his neck. His eyes widened and then he stumbled onto the couch. Anna made sure he did not hit his head and even pulled his trousers and underwear up before gathering her things.

She leaned over to kiss his forehead, "Good work John. Sleep well and satisfied. I know I will."

Anna fished everything from his pockets and stuffed it into her bag before ducking out the window. She made sure the men across the street saw her as she used the fire ladders to descend to street level. Once there she checked her appearance before sauntering over to the men.

"Fancy a knob gentlemen?"

"What happened to the other man?"

"He's upstairs, asleep. I think I wore him out," Anna dangled the key in front of them, "I don't mind more than one at a time."

One of the men snatched the key and the other showed her his holster. "You just be on your way now and you don't get hurt."

Anna widened her eyes and ran for it, sprinting out of sight and for a short time after that until she was sure they could not hear her. She smiled and climbed into the waiting van to see a balding man and a woman with brown hair.

"The patch worked beautifully."

"How fast we he out?"

"Less than a minute." Anna smiled at the woman, "And you can radio headquarters. They took the bait."

"Technically they took the Bates I think," The balding man sniggered and Anna made a face. "What? I thought it was funny."

"Joseph Moseley, funny?" Anna shook her head, "Only when you don't mean to be and his name is Bernhard."

"And mine's Sunday, if you don't mind." Moseley resettled in the driver's seat and started the engine, "I'm an elite too."

"We all are Sunday." The other woman examined the inside of Anna's bag and extricated the camera, "You got their pictures too?"

"Hard not to when they were right there." Anna shook her head, "I worry about the lighting but if it's as good as you say it'll be no problem Phyllis."

"All in a day's work I suppose," Phyllis held the film to the light, "I'll develop these as soon as possible and we'll hopefully have names for them by tomorrow."

"Perfect." Anna worked her way to the passenger seat and buckled in, "Saturday and Sunday, my perfect weekend."

"We do our best." Phyllis said Moseley drove them back to headquarters.


	3. Green

Bates blinked his eyes open and put his hand to his head.

"Had a nasty little fall there." Someone leaned over him and Bates's vision cleared enough for him to make out the features of another man. "They say you should never trust a prostitute."

"This didn't come from a prostitute." Bates sat up on the sagging couch, "This was the drink."

"Can't hold your tonic?"

"Not laced tonic." Bates groaned as he eyed the small apartment, "Maybe it was the prostitute."

"Thought as much."

Bates checked his pockets, "Made off with my money… bitch."

"They do that." Green took a seat on the edge of the coffee table, "It's why you can't just put it anywhere."

"I didn't care about the where. I just needed to put it somewhere." Bates hauled himself to his feet, buckling his belt as he did so, "What'd you care anyway mate? You're not her pimp are you?"

"No, I'm not. But I've got a soft spot for the helpless and destructive." The man opened his hands while shrugging, "Call me good hearted."

"You were in the pub."

"And I followed you. Anyone who can do what you did in there is worthy my attention."

"Who says you're worth mine?"

"Maybe the fact that you've got nowhere to go."

"How'd you figure that?"

"You were moaning about it while drinking more Guinness than I think healthy but then again, I never liked Irish beer."

"Let me guess," Bates stalked the apartment, "You prefer it cold like they take it in America?"

"No," The other man clasped his hands in front of his imposing trench coat that just emphasized his small frame. "I prefer German brews."

"Gonna have a time of it finding any of those here nowadays."

"Not if you know who to ask about them."

Bates narrowed his eyes, "You're got a supplier?"

"More than that, I know the smugglers who bring it in." The man flopped on the couch, getting as comfortable as possible on the groaning furniture, "We're part of the same group and we want you to be as well."

"What group is that?"

"Names aren't important," The man stood and passed John a card, "What is important is that you be at that address by midnight and see the wonders the world can offer a man with your skills."

"And my ax to grind I'd imagine."

The man smiled, "No one's perfect Commander Bates. Or should I say, ex-Commander Bates?"

Bates scowled at the man, "It's just Bates now. I don't suppose you want to give me your name, just to make things fair."

"Green."

"Just Green?"

"That's the only name you need." Green pulled his coat closer to his body, "If you want something that'll put you back on top and gain back any of your dignity you'll come to that address at midnight."

"And you just think I'll come?"

"Considering your other options are to rot in this shithole after risking a VD with a prostitute who fleeced you after knocking you out… or pissing away in a bar to drown your pathetic sorrows I'd say you've got few choices." Green scoffed, "What's it like at the bottom of the food chain? Horrible I'd imagine. Especially given where you were before your wife-"

Bates grabbed Green by the collar and hauled him against the wall. He lifted Green off the ground so his feet kicked slightly, "Insult me again or mention my ex-wife and you'll go flying through that window mate."

Green only laughed and Bates dropped him, "Bring that rage. We can use a man with your power and that kind of anger."

"No one can use this."

"We can and we'll show you how you can too." Green headed for the door, "Don't forget, midnight."

"I haven't got a watch."

"Then steal one."

"Haven't a map."

"Then ask a policeman for directions." Green pulled his collar up and grabbed his hat off the coat rack by the door. "Be seeing you Mr. Bates."

* * *

Bates counted five then pushed through the rotating door. He walked to the bench occupied by Mary, reading the paper with a raised eyebrow. Bates took a seat next to her and leaned over, "Mind lending me the funnies?"

"I don't think you should read them," She turned the page, "You already suffer from far too many attempts at being funny."

"That hurts Friday."

"It's supposed to." She turned another page, "There's a ticket for the south London train in the stall nearest the window in the gents. Check just under the lip of the tank and you'll find the envelope."

"I'll have to stand on the toilet to reach that."

"Then take care you don't fall in," Mary folded the paper and stood, "The train'll take you to the station a short walk from your flat. If anyone follows you, note them. Otherwise wait there for instructions."

"Who's debriefing me?"

Mary only smiled and smacked his chest with the paper. He grabbed it as she leaned forward, "Make small talk with the person sitting next to you on the train. I'm sure the conversation'll be riveting."

"You're not coming."

"I don't ride in third class." Mary went to leave as Bates called after her.

"No goodbye?"

Mary rolled her eyes and walked away, holding her head high.

Bates snorted to himself and waited a minute, flipping through the paper, before walking to the gents. He waited for the last stall and slipped in, flipping the lock on the door. He examined the toilet a moment before stepping on the lid. Bates worked quickly to lift the lid off the top and reach his hand inside for the envelope.

With the paper securely in his grip he replaced the lid and stepped down, his life flashing before his eyes a moment as he slipped a little on the seat. Whistling at his good fortune not to fall into the bowl Bates flipped the lock and exited the stall. He rinsed his hands and left the bathroom.

The walk to his train allowed him to gain the disapproval of a few old women who must have taken his appearance, and the faint smell of drink on him, to mean he was one of those vagrants determined to shirk duty to King and Country. The men grumbled at him as Bates boarded the train and even the conductor taking his ticket scowled. Bates only smiled at him and noticed the two men in dark suits sitting near the rear of the train.

He adjusted in his seat for a better look when a hand came down on his shoulder, forcing him back into his seat. Bates looked up and saw Talbot as the lanky man sat across from him, crossing his legs before flipping open his own paper. "Nice day?"

"Had a rough go of it in the morning but a nice little pub meal got my stomach going again." Bates flexed his jaw, "Since I've seen Friday and now you I'd assume that you're probably not the person taking my debrief?"

"No." Talbot did not look up from the paper, "I'm here to keep those men off you as you get back to your building."

"Which men?"

"Don't be stupid," Talbot glared over the top of the paper, "The ones in the rear of the coach who've been following you since you stumbled out of the flat this morning."

"Have you been following me since I stumbled out of that flat this morning?"

"Please, that's work for foot soldiers." Talbot turned the page, "Though I've got high hopes for William and Alfred, they've got a bit of potential to them."

"As agents?"

"As soldiers," Talbot lowered the paper a moment. "Those boys bought into the service because they wanted to defend the home front. They're not made for what we do Bernhard."

"And I am?"

"You're the one willing to risk it all with Monday to ensure those men bought her performance as a thieving prostitute." Talbot laughed as Bates struggled to respond, "You're secret's safe with me Bernhard."

"It was part of the cover."

"And you both played it marvelously but only an idiot failed to see that the two of could've set fire to the table yesterday with your antics and I'm not an idiot."

"I assume by that comment you believe someone is."

"I try not to speak ill of my commanding officers." Talbot smirked and pulled the paper up, "You're to go to your flat and then take the back staircase to the roof. They'll debrief you there and give your further instructions."

"And that's all?"

"Not quite." Talbot closed the paper and folded it in half, "I'm aware of Monday's charms. She's bright, she's quick, sharper than a tack, and not afraid of her duty. She's more than a match for any man in the office I've seen try to degrade her and I've watched her in combat training. She's a good with putting a bullet between a man's eyes as she is with leaving him groaning on a mat… and I don't mean that in a recreational way."

"Are you warning me away from Monday?"

"I'm advising you to take care. She's not to be trifled with and, should you break her heart, she's not the only one who'll break you in return."

"Can I hazard a guess you mean Friday?"

"And the Admiral." Talbot rolled his paper into a baton and grabbed the one Bates held to do the same. "She means as much to him as his own children and while I assume he thinks highly of you, he won't hesitate to toss you in a hole if you hurt her and given how I feel about Monday I wouldn't blame him. In fact, I'd help him."

"Are you sweet on her?"

"Heavens no. But I want what's best for her because she's fast as a whip and I'm usually so starved for good conversation." Talbot let his lip twitch, "More than that I like trying to impress Friday and Monday helps me do that."

Bates smiled, "I could see it."

"Too bad Friday doesn't."

"Knowing women as I do, Tuesday, she does. She just can't yet." Bates opened his hands, "I promise you, all joking aside, I've no intention of hurting Monday."

"Good," Talbot stood, "If you don't mind my asking, since I know it's none of my business, but what do you mean to the Admiral?"

"I saved his life in the last war."

"Good show." Talbot jerked his head toward the door, "You better get moving."

Bates slipped past Talbot in the rush to get off the train and only glanced back briefly to see Talbot beating both suited men soundly with his newspaper batons. Bates worked his way through the crush to the cabs on the street and hailed one to take him around the station once. In the crowd he saw two others try to follow him but Bates paid the driver to continue the circuit and slipped out at a stop, moving to the pavement to watch the other cab carrying his latent pursuers away.

Chuckling to himself, Bates walked the two blocks to his building and entered the lift. In the enclosed space he smelled himself and wished he had time for a good soak before meeting whoever wanted a debrief on his roof but time ticked against him. He entered his flat and took the back stairs, hidden behind a set of cabinets in the kitchen, to the roof.

The air felt clearer here and the noises of the street so far away as Bates weaved between the chimneys and clothes lines before seeing one woman leaning by the entrance to the neighboring building. Bates smiled to himself and walked over to them, "Afternoon Ms. Monday."

"An argument could be made to say it's still the morning Mr. Bernhard," Anna held out her hand and he shook it, "Good to see you're up and about."

"Next time I might ask for a little warning before you drug me." Bates massaged the back of his neck and removed the patch, "I think I'd have preferred you taking that rather large vase to my skull instead of whatever this was."

"And risk permanent injury I don't think so." Anna shook her head, "Besides, Saturday and Sunday needed a test of their product in the field and you gave them what they needed. The effects set in almost instantaneously and that's what they've been working toward for months. It was success for them."

"Perhaps next time they can decrease the dose and save me the raging headache when I wake up."

"I hope I don't have to use it on you again Mr. Bernhard." Anna's smile dropped and she ducked her head slightly, "Good to see you Friday."

"I hope so." Mary surveyed Bates, "You made it here in one piece."

"I have Tuesday to thank for that I think."

Mary only huffed, "That man'll get himself killed if he keeps leaving headquarters to pull stupid stunts like that."

"He did his duty." Bates pursed his lips, "We could've taken the same train, you and I."

"We did, Commander."

"I didn't see you."

"I told you," Mary sniffed, "I don't ride third class."

"Could we keep on task, Friday?" Anna pulled her coat tighter, "It's chilly up here and I don't much care for the cold."

"Fine," Mary turned to Bates, "Give me your report."

"How much do you want to know?" Bates watched Mary's head go down as she dug in her bag.

"Not as much as you think since we had the flat lined with listening devices," Bates and Anna exchanged a wide-eyed look at one another before Bates reverted his attention to Mary, who emerged victorious from her bag with a canister. "They were activated the moment our eyes in the hallway noted someone enter the flat that wasn't you or Monday."

"Then you know they tapped a meeting for this evening?"

"Time?" Mary took notes on a small pad.

"Midnight." Bates pulled the card from his pocket, "They want to gather at this address. Apparently we're meeting someone who gets a Mr. Green some German brews."

"A smuggling ring?" Anna suggested, "Someone with loose ties to the Reich?"

"It felt like more than that." Bates shrugged, "Something about his tone had me convinced he really knows someone involved in subversion here in London."

"How would you describe this Mr. Green, physically?" Mary drew their attentions back and Bates took a moment.

"Shorter than me, probably by about a head. Not much taller than Monday here in regulation pumps." Bates turned to Monday, "No offense."

"None taken."

"Focus, Bernhard." Mary snapped, "His appearance?"

"Chestnut hair, a little bit of a hunch to his shoulders like he's used to concealing himself, and pretty Anglo features."

"No scars or defining marks?"

"Not any I could see but he was in a suit. Not bespoke but definitely tailored. The coat seemed like a standard issue for detectives or detective inspectors. Something very bureaucratic."

"You think he's a plant trying to fish you?" Anna continued when both Bates and Mary stared at her. "If he's as government as his coat then maybe it's a fishing expedition. They just want to prove all the courts were wrong when they released you after your wife's conviction."

"Ex-wife."

"That's as good as point as any to jump to the next order of business," Mary handed John a file, "Fill this out and then drop it in the envelope when you have more details after tonight's meeting. It's already marked for post so you just drop it in any box and we'll retrieve it."

"How?" Bates looked at the address and shook his head, "No, no, no-"

"Commander-"

"Are you bloody joking?" Bates held the envelope to Mary's view, "Is this a bloody joke?"

"I assure you I'm very serious and the approval for this came through the Admiral himself."

"I'm not sending any mail to my ex-wife."

"The beauty of her situation, Commander, is that we already go through all of her mail. She'll never know you sent it because we'll retrieve it."

"But someone'll see it and then I'm on the ropes again as a conspirator with a known German spy."

Mary rolled her eyes with a sigh, "That was why we selected you for this team, Commander. You knew that at the beginning. Hence your code name in all this. I don't know why your acting so surprised."

Bates took the envelope back, almost crumpling it in his grip before calming himself, "Is your plan to have more eyes on me? Sending her mail is a red flag."

"It'll give whatever friends you're to make at midnight tonight reason to believe you're simply a better spy and a better liar for the Germans than your wife."

"Ex-wife."

"The point still stands, Commander, that they need to think you still keep in touch with her or else you've lost another potential use to them." Mary checked over her things, "From now on Monday'll handle your debriefings until we think it's safe to bring you back to headquarters. The logistics of that are up to the two of you but I do have some suggestions if you want some."

Bates still tried to keep his breathing steady and noted how Anna looked at him before turning to Mary, "I think we'll manage but thank you Mary."

"Don't thank me. I'm only here to do my job."

Both Bates and Anna watched Mary walk away before Anna finally spoke to him. "I am pleased to see you."

"Any particular reason?" Bates motioned with his hand back toward his rooftop entrance and held the door for her.

"I've never slept better in my life than last night," Anna moved past him, closer than necessary so her body brushed over his. "I thought you might've been responsible for that and I like giving credit where credit is due."

"Well then my compliments to whomever made sure the listening device only activated after you left the room or everyone at headquarters would know how fantastic you are." Bates followed Anna down the cramped stairs. "I'd hate to share that with anyone."

"Me too." Anna took a seat at Bates's table, "Lovely little flat you have here."

"It's just a place to stay." Bates took the opposing seat, scanning the kitchen, "I haven't been back here in almost a year."

"Because of your trial?" Bates nodded and Anna leaned forward, "Would you mind if I asked what happened?"

"I married the wrong woman's what happened." Bates leaned back in the chair, "I was home on leave in my lieutenants uniform and she liked how I filled it out. I liked how she looked and we took to shagging like rabbits for the three days of my shore leave."

"Three days?"

"Doubting my story?"

"Just her stamina."

Bates paused, "Are you sure you want to hear this?"

"I think it's best that I know why the idea of even sending mail to your wife repulses you."

"Ex-wife."

Anna held up her hands, "My apologies but I still want to know."

"We only married because she claimed she was pregnant but the baby died within a month. The midwives had it down as failure to thrive but I knew the signs. They just didn't want to tell me because they were afraid I caused it."

"Caused what?"

"Syphilis. I'd seen it on the men of my ships and the prostitutes who propositioned me in pubs on shores. That child died of syphilis because my wife had it and passed it on to our child."

"John-"

Bates paused a second at the sound of his name, and the feel of Anna's hand on his, but pressed forward. "I buried the baby, if it was even mine to begin with, and immediately got us help."

"What did the doctors find?"

"I was clean. I insisted on check ups for the next year but all came back clean so I guess she never gave me anything. Some say I'm lucky and need to consider myself so but I don't feel lucky."

"You don't?"

"Well, luckier than the five other men she had between when we married and then… they all had it and one even died." Anna cringed but Bates only shrugged, "Some cultures believe VDs are the curse of the gods on the unfaithful wives. I can own up to feeling a little vindicated by her suffering in response to her adultery."

"But?"

"But I loved her. More than I should've and far more than she ever loved me… if she even loved me more than the jacket I wore or the stripes on my shoulders." Bates shook his head, "We drifted apart and I gained promotion. I took second command under Admiral Crawley on a nine-month tour and came back to find bobbies at my house in London. They arrested me and tossed me in a cell for a week before anyone even told me why I was there."

"Because they thought you were a spy?"

"Because they thought I helped her be a spy." Bates snorted, "Like I'd be so stupid."

"How'd they figure you helped her?"

"I once left my case on the table. She'd never shown an interest in the work I did or my assignments but I left it out once in a hurry for the loo and she read through the contents before I came back to lock it away in my desk." Bates shook his head, "Imagine being raked over the coals for daring to take a bog in your own flat."

Anna sniggered, "Sorry."

"No," Bates laughed with her, "It's better to laugh about the absurdity of the whole thing instead of always thinking about the misery of it."

"And they released you?"

"Lord Sinderby, in his infinite stupidity, took six months to realize there was no way I could've had a direct hand in it and instead succumbed to peer pressure to release me. But not before he tried to destroy everything about my life." Bates clapped his hands together, "That's why I don't want to even imagine I'm writing her anything. I want nothing to do with the woman who destroyed my life twice."

"Twice?"

"She took a child from me and then she took my reputation." Bates stood, "So the idea that I'd even send her more than curses is preposterous."

"But it's the lie we've got to tell Mr. Bernhard." Anna took a deep breath, "And part of that lie is to not let them think you're too invested tonight."

"I thought I wanted them to like me."

"Have you ever flirted with a difficult woman Mr. Bernhard?"

"I'm usually very good with women so I don't know if I can honestly say I have." Bates smiled and Anna shrugged, as if to concede the point. "What's your point?"

"Part of the flirtation process is to never give the party seeking your affection everything they want at the beginning. You have to keep them wanting, begging even, for more."

"What's your plan?"

"You're the damaged and dishonored Naval Officer but you're not disillusioned. You're doing this for glory, not revenge. You're trying to prove to King, to country, perhaps even to yourself that you're worth everything everyone's now stripped from you." Anna paused, "You can't do an about-face with them."

"I don't know if playing hard-to-get is my game."

"It'll have to be." Anna held up a hand, "Refuse anything too big. Make it seem like it's too much now but gradually show yourself to be the person they can trust with the minutia and then they'll beg you to keep coming to their side but you'll be on your terms and not there's."

"Keep the upper hand?"

"Exactly." Anna cocked her head sideways, "You should be very good at that."

"Usually but sometimes I give over the reins for some excitement." Bates smiled at her and stood, "And under different circumstances I'd show you right now but I'm afraid I need a good soak and you need to scamper before anyone suspects something."

"And I was so looking forward to a soak with you Mr. Bernhard." Anna pushed her chair back and went to the narrow staircase.

Bates followed her to the top but as she went for the doorknob he grabbed her hand. He spun her and pulled her lips to his as he pressed her against the door. She immediately wrapped her hands around the back of his head and moaned into the kiss.

He risked a deep plunge of his tongue and she immediately sucked on it. His eyes rolled back in his head at the feel of her nails digging at the back of his neck. Her hips gyrated against him and Bates broke the kiss as his body reacted.

"Tease," Anna kissed his cheek, "But I'm a patient girl."

"I should hope so," Bates crowded her to the door, "Because when I finally get the time to have you properly, I'll take my time."

"You did mention an hour just to kiss my body." Anna opened the door and slipped out, "Next time, Mr. Bernhard."


	4. Docks

Bates shivered and pulled his coat closer, gritting his teeth to stop them chattering. The nearest lamp flickered and buzzed with the electric current and Bates glared at it as a car pulled up. He turned, his hands bawling up in his sleeves to brush against the knives he hid in the linings of his cuffs.

Three men exited the car and walked over to him, their hats pulled low over their eyes. Bates studied their gaits, watching how one of them caught slightly and the way another swung his arms in time with his movements. He figured he could take out the one with the hitch in his step first then eliminate the gorilla before he dealt with number three, who he now recognized as Green.

"Good evening Mr. Bates." Green pushed the fingers of one glove down as if to make sure his fingers were completely covered.

"Good is not what I call sub-freezing temperatures on docks that smell like fish." Bates sniffed, "Why the cloak and dagger?"

"Person of your standing's got enemies and eyes the everyday man fears, Mr. Bates." Green gestured around them, "We wanted to make sure you weren't followed by anyone who doesn't like us and that you didn't try to spring something on us with people we don't like."

"Well I don't know you well enough to know your friends from your enemies and no one likes me enough to waste their time in my direction anymore so I guess that bridge is crossed." Bates shivered again, "Any chance that since we've made all the required pleasantries we could move this conversation somewhere that doesn't risk my extremities freezing and falling off?"

"You've not even met my friends," Green pointed to the two other men, "They'll feel left out if you don't introduce yourself to them."

"By now you three know me better than I know myself I'm sure and, let's be honest, we're not here to make friends." Bates stomped his feet, "Either tell me where I can get a batch of good German beer, meet with whomever you think wants my talents, or drive off in your little car but don't waste my time. I don't have the patience for it in this cold."

Green smiled at the two other men, "What'd I tell you? A man of action this one."

The other two men grunted before the one with gorilla arms stepped forward, pointing in Bates's face. "I don't like the look of him. He's got the laces of Navy all over him and the stink of stripes. He's too straight for us."

"Sorry I don't bend over the way you want." Bates responded, "But I'm sure you're mate there'll help you out with a reach around if you ask nicely."

The man with gorilla arms charged Bates but he ducked and grabbed the man's outstretched limb. He pulled back, tucking the man's arm behind him and yanked until he heard the snap. The other man howled and Bates stomped at the back of the man's knee. He went down and Bates landed on his back, driving the man's head to the pavement.

Arms gripped around Bates's neck and hauled him up. He reached over his head, grabbing at the other man's face to drag his nails over skin. The other man howled and his grip loosened enough for Bates to drive an elbow into the man's stomach. All the air left his lungs and he released Bates. Bates took the palm of his hand and drove it into the man's nose, breaking it in a spurt of blood.

With both of the attackers groaning on the ground Bates stepped over them toward Green. "If you're just going to waste my time, I'd rather drown in a glass of Guinness."

Green smiled, "That won't be necessary Mr. Bates."

He reached into the back of his coat and Bates took a step back as he pulled out a gun. But Green moved around Bates and shot the other two men twice in the back of the head. Both bodies twitched slightly as Green replaced the gun in his shoulder holster and turned back to Bates, "You passed the first test."

"Could I correctly assume that those bullets'd be mine if it'd all gone differently for me?"

"I'd only use one on you Mr. Bates." Green stepped to the side and swept his arm toward the car, "Ready for a drive?"

* * *

Bates walked into the pub and took the booth at the back. He set his hat on the table and leaned his head back, shutting his eyes. Someone slid into the seat across from him. After waiting a moment Bates opened his eyes to see Anna, her hair gathered on top of her head and looking rather browner than he remembered.

She smiled at him and motioned to the menu, "You using that?"

"No," Bates shook his head and slid the menu over to her, "I didn't think there were any French women in this city I hadn't met."

"Fancy yourself an expert on French women?" Anna kept her focus on the menu but Bates saw the hint of a smile on her mouth.

"I fancy myself a connoisseur, those are two different things." Bates sighed, "But I suspect you're a connoisseur of a few things yourself miss."

"I believe myself a bit of an expert in matters of language."

"Talented tongue?"

She smiled over the menu at him, "One could say. I speak English, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese."

"Fan of romance?"

"I happen to like the way it feels." She pointed to him, "Yourself?"

"I speak English and German."

"With or without an accent?"

"My English always has a bit of Irish to it but I guess you never really escape the Emerald Isle." Bates leaned forward and lowered his voice, "Is there anything you can't do, Ms. Monday?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Anna paused, "Except speak German. You have me there."

"Ever tried?"

"A few times. I was rubbish at it in school and then again in training."

"German's not very hard."

"I find it very hard," Anna ran her tongue over her bottom lip, "I guess I just couldn't get my mouth around it."

Bates choked a moment, coughing to cover it before taking a sip of water. "Perhaps that's a conversation for another time."

"And here I thought you were an exhibitionist."

"What'd you mean?" Bates felt the creases in his forehead as Anna removed a paper from her purse and showed him the picture of the two dead bodies on the docks. "I didn't do that."

"No but I suspect your friend Green did." Anna crossed her hands over it, "What's his game?"

"He only introduced me to smugglers last night." John took another sip of water before holding up a finger to get the attention of the waitress. "But they've all got the feel to them."

"They given you anything to do yet?" Anna smiled at the waitress and took her French accent back, "Yes if I could have dark roast and a pan au chocolat?"

The waitress turned to Bates, her mouth slightly opened. Bates smiled, "She wants the chocolate bread and I'd like your classic English breakfast if you can."

The woman nodded and walked away as Anna turned back to Bates, "You haven't answered my question."

"I was ordering wasn't I?" He smiled at her, "But no. The only order they gave was for me to keep working with them in their smuggling operation."

"What kinds of things?"

"Small stuff. Right now it's German beer or sausages. Some French wines and other delicacies snatched from anywhere in the war zone we can't get to. The kinds of things people on rations dream about stacking in their larders. I'd hazard it's going to the rich and famous already disillusioned with this war or working as secret fascists." Bates tapped the table, "I did see some boxes at the back but Green and the leader were whispering over by them and the others had their eyes on me the whole time so I've no idea what's there."

"Guesses?"

"I don't like speculation."

"If I pressed?"

Bates winced, "I'd say small arms. Green carries a German Luger and I know it's from after we declared war so he got it from somewhere."

"Anything else about other friends of his? Other possible connections?"

"Given that he shot and killed two of those 'friends' in front of me I very much doubt he's close with anyone in his little syndicate. This kind of work breeds mistrust and shaky alliances." Bates jerked his head toward the door, "I think you've got someone waiting for you."

Anna looked over and smiled, "I guess I should've asked for my breakfast to go since it looks like I'll be eating on the run."

"Shame. I was hoping to get to know you a bit over breakfast."

Anna stopped and Bates held her gaze. She resumed her seat, "Would that make you happy Mr. Bernhard?"

"I think there's a lot to Ms. Monday that I don't know but I'd like to." Bates smiled, "And I think you already made me inadvertently happy this morning but propriety keeps me under the table."

She ran her tongue over her teeth and grinned at him while looking down, "Glad to know it all still works."

"It never broke Monday."

"Next time I'll stay then." Anna stood, "But right now I need to get in to report or Friday'll have an aneurysm."

"Yes, we all cater to Friday." Bates watched Anna go, and winked at her when she turned back.

The waitress came with the food and Bates motioned to the table, "Just leave it all here and I'll take the bill if you have it."

* * *

Bates cracked his back, standing by as another one of the men closed the crate and slapped the side to signal it was ready for loading. Green came over to Bates, dragging on his cigarette before taking it from his mouth, "What'd you think Mr. Bates?"

"I think if I wanted manual labor I'd reenlist in the Navy or take my chances in the Army for all the good it'd do me." He rubbed his hands together to get sensation back in his tingling fingers, "How long you going to have me loading lorries and unloading little fishing ferries?"

"Why'd you ask Mr. Bates?"

"Because I'm tired of managing this lot since smuggled sausages aren't really my fancy since I can't eat them. You promised me more than this and I'm finding this far less than desirable."

"How much more are you looking for Mr. Bates?" Green blew cigarette smoke out of his mouth and Bates matched it with the cloud of fog coming from his own jaws in the cold air.

"Something that actually uses my skills."

"This doesn't?"

"Anyone can load a lorry. They've got trained monkeys that do more complex tasks than this." Bates waved both arms at the docks, "If I'm only here to meet some quota for you on the docks then I'm done with this. I could do it for twice the price in the daytime hours with anyone else who loads the boats on this street."

"What if I told you this was a test, Mr. Bates?"

"I'd say I'm tired of your questions and I want a straight answer before I decide to use my anger to rearrange your bloody teeth."

Green flicked his fag away and blew a stream of smoke from the side of his mouth, "It was a test of your obedience. How long could you go just working like the rest of them before you snapped."

"Didn't take long."

Green shrugged, "Some don't take more than a day and others never break. They're so caught in the machine they're just cogs now. No better than workhorses set to drive the mill until they die. We don't want those extremes. You can't control them and you can't depend on them. They're not like you."

"Like me?"

"Not like you," Green pointed to his auto, "Come take a ride with me Mr. Bates."

A tiny trickle of doubt raised the hairs on Bates's neck but he followed Green to the auto and took the seat as Green turned the key. They drove away from the docks and out of Poplar toward the west. Bates did not speak, determined to keep the attitude of frustrated and angry worker trying to find a harness for his aggression.

They entered a quiet neighborhood and Green pulled to a stop outside a building with a number of floors dedicated to flats nicer than the one Bates occupied to the south. Bates leaned toward the windshield, craning his head back slightly to get a look at the building. Green tapped him on the shoulder.

"No need to stare at it. We're going inside."

"Sure I fit the décor?" Bates pulled at his thicker clothing, plain like workmen or those who handled the dustbins. Not exactly on par with the tenor of the neighborhood.

"It won't matter. We won't be here long." Green grinned and Bates tried to bite his tongue to keep the trickle of doubt from forming an icicle of suspicion.

Their footsteps echoed eerily on the deserted street and Green turned under a stone stair to where a belowground apartment door hid partly in shadows. Bates slid along the wall to give Green the light he needed to find the lock. After a moment the lock clicked and Green pushed the door open, motioning for Bates to follow him.

"Remind me, Mr. Bates, how long have you been working the docks for us?"

"Two weeks, not counting tonight." Bates tried to get his eyes to adjust to the dark, following Green mostly by the sound of his voice.

"Two weeks isn't much time to get to know someone is it?"

"You picked me out of a flat after a prostitute fleeced me in a bar fight so you tell me." Bates blinked furiously as Green turned on a lamp.

"It's not long at all." Green stood behind a chair and put his arms on the shoulders of the woman sitting in it. "But I plan to rectify that mistake."

Bates gritted his teeth to keep from throwing Green across the room. He kept his focus on Green, not daring to make eye contact with the woman in the chair. Her blonde hair hung about her face, some matted to the side of her forehead with drying blood, and the general disarray appeared the result of her struggle. A gag kept her teeth separated with a thick knot and her labored breathing through the cloth led John to believe she had bruised ribs, if not broken ones. Ropes wrapped her torso to the hack of the chair, her wrists to the armrests, and her ankles to the legs. She tugged against the bindings but they just cut into her wrists.

Gathering enough spit in his mouth Bates finished his scan of the woman, still refusing to make eye contact with her, and shrugged at Green. "Is this your idea of an offering?"

"Offering?"

"For promising me something worth my time and talents and then dumping me on those docks to lift and carry for you?" Bates snorted, "I don't take my women like this unless they ask to be tied up."

"She's the mistake." Green leaned over her, stroking one finger down her cheek, "Do you know who she is?"

"Haven't the foggiest."

"You don't remember?"

"Obviously not. The ropes excluded I usually remember beautiful women because I usually had beautiful memories with them. Or, at least, halfway decent ones." Bates paced back toward the door, "I'm done with this mate."

"Leave this room and I slit her throat."

Bates froze at the door and pivoted slowly on his heel to see Green holding a knife to the woman's neck. For the first time that night Bates looked into the cerulean eyes and caught the hint of pleading fear there. He rolled his shoulders and opened his hands, "What'd you want then?"

"Tell me who this woman is."

"If you don't know why'd you grab her?"

"I want to know who she is to you." Green pressed the point of the knife into the woman's neck and yanked back on her hair. She barely grunted against the gag. "Why's this woman been following you?"

"My charming good looks?" Bates shrugged, sweeping the room for a possible weapon. "Maybe I had her friend once and she's heard stories. That's happened to me before."

"You'd have me believe that former Commander John Bates, married ten years to the known German spy Vera Bernhard, is a ladies man?"

"Why'd you think my wife turned to Hitler for love?" Bates settled on a sizable book resting on the table lining the wall next to him.

"I think you're lying."

"And I think you kidnapped a nobody off the street in the hopes I'd give something up to you."

"Like what?"

"I don't know but I don't have the kind of honor that'll save someone I don't know." Bates met the woman's eyes again, "Sorry sweetheart but you're nothing to me and I'm not risking my life for a nobody."

"Then she's a nobody?"

"I guess, in technicality, anybody's an everybody to somebody else but she's nobody to me." Bates worked his hand onto the table, like he was leaning on it. "Rectify what mistake you've got to if you think she's going to help you but otherwise leave me out of it."

Green lowered the knife, taking it away from the woman's neck. "Then you don't know this woman's been following you?"

"I'd have recognized a woman like that because I'd have propositioned her." Bates winced at her, "Sorry miss but I've got to be honest and if I'd met you on the street we'd be done in a back alley in a few minutes."

Green guffawed, "You've no idea that British Naval Intelligence put their best to tail you?"

"British Intelligence tails me all the time. Has since my wife got herself stupidly locked in Lancaster." Bates scowled, "I've learned to ignore them or avoid them but usually it's men in trench coats like yours not beddable blondes."

Green came around the chair and pointed toward it with his knife, "This is Anna Smith. They call her Agent Monday."

"My condolences." Bates faked a smile, "Get to the bloody point."

"She's been tailing you."

"You mentioned that."

"Any idea why?"

"Like I said, I've been followed for months because they think I know something I don't about what my wife said to Mr. Hitler." Bates fingered the spines of the books on the table like it was nothing, "I've been pulled into the backs of lorries, cabs, alleys, and broom cupboards to have a few over ambitious boys in boots too big for them throw a few jabs at my gut like they could break me."

"Did they?"

"They punch like children. I took worse beatings from my wife." Bates grabbed one of the books and flicked through the pages, "I've got nothing to tell them and nothing to lose."

"Then you won't mind if I get rid of Naval Intelligence here for you?" Green sidestepped his way back to Anna, "If she's their answer to your previous reticence and you're so fond of the beddable blonde then maybe I should just get rid of her."

"Do what you like on your own time but stop wasting mine." Bates dropped his arm but kept the book firmly in his grasp. "What's next?"

"There's a meeting, tomorrow night, at the Celsior Club in Belgravia." Green leered at Anna, not even looking at Bates anymore. "Be there by midnight."

"Fancy dress party is it?" Bates stepped toward the door but it also changed his angle on Green.

"Something like that." Green pointed the knife at Anna's throat again, "I'm going to enjoy this more than you will."

Bates took two steps before Green could even turn and brought the book up in an arc to thwack Green across the head. He stumbled, temporarily disoriented, but it was enough for Bates to wrest the knife from his grip. As Green fell into the wall Bates slit the knots on Anna's right hand and gave her the knife.

A moment later Bates struggled to breath as Green tackled him to the floor, knocking the wind from him. Bates boxed Green's ears but the other man railed a haymaker down on Bates's face and chest. The blows knocked Bates head to the side and split open his cheek.

Squirming to escape the hold, Bates worked one leg under Green enough to kick the man off him. Green hit the ground and Bates rolled to his knees but then felt a kick to his gut. He bent with the motion and Green's knee collided with his face, knocking his nose enough to bleed.

Bates grabbed Green's foot on the next strike and pulled him to the floor. But Green hopped with it and punched down, leaving Bates with a ringing in his ears. Bates pulled away, trying to give himself enough distance to assess his position when Green stopped.

His hand flew to his throat and he choked as blood seeped over his hand. He held his free hand out to Bates, who just backed away, and Green fell to his knees. A moment later he planted on the carpet, facedown.

Bates looked up to see Anna, gag hanging from her neck and bloody knife in her hand, standing over Green's body. She waited a minute before dropping her arm and pulling the gag over her head. "Burn in hell."

She looked up at Bates and pointed at Green, "He's not the brightest one is he?"

"He was just stupid enough to think I didn't know you." Bates paced around Green, holding his finger under the man's nose to confirm he no longer breathed, "He didn't even recognize you as the prostitute."

"Most only see the tits and ass on a prostitute." Anna dropped the knife on Green's body and rubbed at her wrists, "I thought you had marvelously quick thinking."

"I almost killed him the moment he put his hands on you."

"I saw it in your eyes."

"Is that why you didn't worry when I fed him all that?"

"Having fed enough interrogators the details I needed to save myself, the mission, or other operatives, no." Anna shook her head, "I'm too good to worry about where your loyalties lie."

"What if I'm lying?"

"Then I shoot you and that's the end of it."

"Lovely," Bates leaned over Green to pick up the book and snorted when he saw the cover, "How fitting."

"What?"

Bates held it up, " _Mein Kempf_."

"Your what?"

" _My Struggle_ ," Bates looked over the cover, "Brought down by the words of Hitler himself."

"I think he fails to see the irony." Anna looked over the flat, "I'll phone Wednesday and Thursday to have their help with clean up on this."

"Clean up?"

"We can't let them know how this happened." Anna pointed to the body, "If you're going to the fancy dress party at the Celsior Club tomorrow night they need to not know Green's dead in his own flat."

"Unless we spin it." Bates held up a hand as Anna went to argue, "We tell them Green was working for British Naval Intelligence. We spin my story as his and convince them I found out when he tried to recruit me to work for the Allies, under him, while pretending to fight for Germany."

"My head's already spinning," Anna rubbed at the bridge of her nose, "You're saying we convince them you killed him to fight their war?"

"Exactly. What's better in a recruit? The potential for violence or proof you killed for the cause?"

"They're not going to buy it."

"Not unless you can get Thursday and Wednesday to make this place look like a sodding circus of Intelligence personnel so they think he's being seen to by his own." Bates risked a look down at Green's body, "He can't fight our version of events if he's dead."

"He'll have friends who won't buy it and defend his reputation."

"I had friends I'd known my whole life turn their back on me when they thought I sold them out via my wife." Bates nodded, "We give them enough they'll be too busy wondering how they missed the signs to pay any thought to me."

"Especially since you've now got an invitation." Anna rolled Green's body over and checked in his pockets.

"What're you doing?"

"Finding this," Anna held up a ring from Green's finger, "Proves you're one of them… mostly."

"Perfect," Bates reached for it but Anna kept it away from him. "You can't wear it. He knew you."

"Then two can play this game." Anna stood, rubbing the ring between two fingers, "If you can betray your country so can I. In fact my disillusionment'll be far easier to sell after what I've done."

"Kill enough for country you realize it's all just killing yeah?" Bates snatched the ring from her, examining it.

"It keeps me on your arm and both of us out of more danger." Anna held out her hand, "Agreed?"

Bates nodded and shook, "Agreed."

"Now let's make this place look like a double agent lives here."


	5. Celsior

Anna pulled her coat over her dress as the bell rang on her flat. She opened it to see Bates in a tuxedo and holding a rather smooth cane. He glanced up at her in the doorway and his jaw dropped a little. Anna smiled and opened the door just enough to elongate her body on the frame, "See something you like Mr. Bernhard?"

"I believe like is an understatement, Ms. Monday," He extended his left arm toward her, "Shall we?"

She grabbed her handbag and closed the door, flipping her hair out from under the collar of her coat. "I haven't been to the Celsior Club in some time."

"You've been before?"

"Back when it was the Excelsior Club. The 'E' and 'X' fell off in a bombing raid so the owners decided it'd show Hitler their determination if they decided to keep going with just the rest of the name."

"Keep calm and carry on, as they say?"

"Exactly." Anna pressed the button for the lift.

"Seems ironic then that we're going there to meet with subversives."

"Very." Anna turned to him, "Friday's mortified that you put headquarters through cleaning up a murder last night."

"Then you conveniently failed to mention in your report to her that you killed Green." Bates gave her a sideways look but Anna only smiled with her shrug.

"You'll recover from the firestorm she'll rain down on you when we report in tomorrow." Anna went to pull the grate back but Bates beat her to it, "As it stands, the Admiral thought the idea to make him the mole a stroke of genius and my participation at this point an unavoidable side effect."

"I have the strangest feeling you needled that out of him with great reluctance." Bates joined her in the lift and pulled the grate closed.

Anna leaned back against the wall of the lift, "I happen to be rather persuasive Mr. Bernhard."

"I've no doubt." He stepped toward her, pressing the button next to her arm. "I think you persuade many people to do a great many things."

"Be careful Mr. Bernhard," Anna tilted her head up to see him more clearly, keeping her arms at her sides, "I might attempt to persuade you."

"That won't be necessary." Bates dipped head and barely brushed his lips over hers. "Unless it's you who needs persuading."

Anna dropped her handbag and dug her fingers into Bates's hair to drag him down to meet her. One of his hands wrapped around the back of her head and the other slipped into her coat to hold at her waist. His fingers slipped on the material of her dress and Anna used his moment of surprise to thrust her tongue into his mouth.

He groaned and pressed into her. Between the wall holding her steady and him, Anna could barely move. She slid her leg up, catching around his hip and his hand at her waist slid down her thigh instead, holding her in place. She ground on him, feeling the evidence of Bates's arousal where she wanted to feel him again, and he broke their kiss to breathe.

"Who needs persuasion now?" She whispered in his ear.

"We're in a lift."

"Makes it all the more exciting I think." Anna caught his ear lobe between her teeth as Bates rutted toward her, striking where the heat gathered.

"Anna," He murmured and went to kiss her again when the bell dinged.

Bates stood, shielding her partially as he dipped to retrieve her dropped handbag. Anna saw the elderly couple standing outside the lift and waved to them while pulling her coat closed. The woman glared at her but the man grinned, looking between Bates and Anna.

"Here you are darling," Bates handed her the bag, "You should make sure to be more careful next time."

"I certainly will." Anna took the handbag and kissed Bates's cheek, "I'd hate to lose this."

Bates noticed the couple and held the grate back for them to enter as Anna exited. "Have a lovely evening."

When the lift ascended Anna sniggered and checked herself in the mirrored wall. "I think I absolutely scandalized that poor woman."

"She'd be more scandalized if she knew what you proposed to me a moment before the door opened." Bates checked his bowtie and thanked the doorman for his coat before putting it on.

"Weren't you?" Anna sucked her lips into her mouth to spread her lipstick back over them, looking at Bates in the mirror.

"My worry was time."

"Time's never been an issue for anyone I've ever been with." Anna turned around, tucking the lipstick into her handbag, "Usually it's over before I realize they began."

"And that, Ms. Monday, is where I differ," Bates tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and steered them out onto the street to hail a cab. "When I get time alone with you, I intend for it to be agonizingly slow."

"I hope that's not self preparation." Anna chided and climbed into the cab, waiting for Bates to join her.

When he did he leaned over to her ear, "No, it's so you'll be in so much ecstasy you won't have any idea what time it is."

Anna shivered, "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I don't." Bates's face was as serious as she'd ever seen it, "Not about this."

Anna sat back, smiling to herself, "Then I'm looking forward to that moment Mr. Bernhard."

The cab dropped them at the door of the Celsior Club amidst a respectable line of cars with drivers. Bates stepped out first and helped Anna to the pavement before paying the driver. Anna adjusted her coat and raised an eyebrow at the ladies who looked down their noses at the cab. When Bates joined her Anna had followed a particular bunch of them inside with her eyes.

"Something wrong?"

"Not anything I couldn't handle with the right pressure points."

Bates went to say something but stopped himself, chuckling, "The very rich don't live in the same world as you and me."

"No one lives in our world, Mr. Bernhard." Anna took Bates's arm again, "They think that a cab is degrading and cannot believe we'd dare be seen outside their posh club in one."

"They don't know any better."

"And that's an excuse?"

"That's an explanation." Bates joined the throng to the entrance, "What people decide to do with the silver spoons or the shoulder chips they have is up to them."

"You're very forgiving."

"I've met more than a few people from rough sides of any town who were the best people I ever met and more than my share of men willing to fist fight first and discuss later. We choose if we allow ourselves suffer the beating of the world or if we will fight back."

"You fought back." Anna used her brightest smile as Bates raised a hand, indicating the ring on his finger. The large man at the door nodded them inside and pointed down a hallway where considerably fewer people headed.

"What makes you think I had to?"

"The lilt of Irish in your accent tells me you're not native. If you are then your parents are first generation from Ireland. I'd say Belfast since you're not politically antagonistic toward the Crown or overly religious."

"What makes you think I'm not religious?"

"We passed a Catholic church on our way here and you bowed your head but didn't cross yourself." Anna followed the directions to the women's coatroom, "You grew up with it but you lost it somewhere. The Catholic guilt's still there but it's more like a passing thought than a serious consideration."

"You've thought about this." Bates waited outside the coatroom as Anna left her coat in the charge of the young girl at the counter.

"That's my job," Anna emerged and watched Bates's jaw drop for the second time that night. "What do you think?"

"I think I may not need any persuasion at all Ms. Monday." Bates pointed to her neck, "I noticed you forgot your saint."

"My what?"

"When you paraded as the lady of the night," Bates kept his voice low as they joined a line being checked through the next door, "You wore a necklace with a saint on it. Saint Jude if I remember Catechism."

"Very good Mr. Bernhard, you recognized the patron saint of lost souls."

"So where is your saint this evening?" John held up his hand to the man at the door and then held out his arms as the man patted him down.

"The romantic answer is I'm not lost now so I don't need him." Anna took his arm again and they entered the room. "The real answer is that I'm not Catholic."

"Then why wear it?"

"It was a gift from a friend of mine." Anna pulled John to the edge of the little balcony at the top of the stairs that led the others down to the gaming tables, the bar, and a dance floor. "He gave it to me before I left the Congo."

"This friend," Bates whispered toward her ear but Anna felt his stance at her side. He surveyed the room as she did, assessing the exits and threats while making others believe it was just a moment between companions for the evening. "Did you love him?"

"Jealous already Mr. Bernhard?"

"I try not to get between couples," He smirked at her, "I'm many things but I don't break up homes."

"I doubt you do and yes I did."

"Did what?"

"Love him," Anna tried to hold back her laugh at the look on Bates's face. "I loved him like I loved my father and he loved me like his child. He was the priest of the village where I worked for six weeks. He gave me the pendant as a gift to remember him."

"In the hopes you'd convert?"

"In hopes I wouldn't forget my own religion." Anna nodded toward a far table, "Those men there, they're in deeper conversation than anyone else here."

"We're at a bit of a disadvantage just approaching anyone." Bates sucked the inside of his cheek a minute. "For all we know this was just a perspective target operation and not an actual meeting."

"You think it's a fishing expedition? Maybe a trap Green orchestrated?"

"Possibly both." Bates put a hand at Anna's back, "We need to blend at the tables."

"Not a good idea," Anna used the banister as her other hand held up the edge of her silky, shimmering blue dress, "I'm too good there."

"The dance floor then?"

"I could stand to be seduced." Anna gave Bates her hand and he spun her into position. "I do hope you know how to dance."

"I impressed a lady to two in her time." Bates smiled, "At least four women have looked your way and two men."

"Any of those kind looks?"

"One of them seemed to eye you as a target but not for romance." Bates slid them over the floor. "He'd be our first opponent."

"No, that's the one at the back door," Anna kept her gaze over Bates's shoulder, "And those three at the bar are staring at us but not in a target way."

"Jealousy's a bit beneath their breeding." Bates feigned a pout, "They should've brought someone almost as beautiful as yourself."

"Almost?"

"They couldn't find anyone as gorgeous as you are."

"Charmer," Anna twirled with Bates's lead, "They'll approach you at the end of the dance."

"If we're all friends here then why wait?"

"Something about propriety'd be my guess." Anna held the position before they slipped into another move. Bates smiled to himself, his chest moving with his held back laugh. "Something funny Mr. Bernhard?"

"How is that you're not flustered?"

"Are you?"

"I hide it well." Bates swung her under his arm before pulling her back, "You didn't worry last night either. No crying or begging or pleading. You were remarkably calm for someone at the risk of gaining a permanent smile across her throat."

"Were you expecting me to dissolve into tears because I'm a woman?"

"No. I was expecting the fear of death that comes to all creatures in those moments." Bates held her close with a hand just beneath her shoulder blade, "What kept you going?"

"I had you didn't I?" Anna finally turned her head enough to catch the side of Bates's gaze. "I trusted you to help me escape and you did. Worrying'd do us no good at all."

"I've seen others in your position, men and women, who sobbed for their lives. I didn't think less of them."

"Last night was nothing I've not endured before Mr. Bernhard," Anna kept her chin up, turned away from Bates's face, "I'm stronger than tears at the end."

"Obviously." Bates slowed them as the live band neared the end of the song. "I already thought highly of you but watching you act under pressure was a thing of beauty."

"And how you handled the situation deserves equal praise." They pulled to a stop and clapped for the band like the rest, "Now impress me again?"

"Always." Bates took her hand as though they would head to the bar but the three men, all with gray hair, blocked their path. "Excuse us gentlemen but my date needs a drink before we continue dancing."

"Are you Bates?"

"It's what my military file called me." Bates extended a hand to the man in the middle who addressed him, "John Bates."

"We know who you are," The one in front of Anna, just to Bates's right, spoke, and no one took Bates's hand. "Green mentioned you as a potential aid to our plans."

"Did he? How flattering." Bates put a hand toward Anna, "Did he mention Ms. Jones in those plans?"

"No." The last man, on Bates's left, had a growl to his voice that grated at Anna's nerves. "In fact, he never reported back last night."

"That's unfortunate." Bates shrugged, "Perhaps he got distracted."

"Distracted?" The middle one smiled at them and Anna felt the hair at the back of her neck prickle as the motion just stretched his mouth sideways while his eyes remained unblinking on them. "How distracted could a man like Green get, Mr. Bates?"

"You'd have to ask him when you see him next, I admit I don't know him very well so I couldn't tell you but if it's anything like how Ms. Jones here distracts me you won't see Green for some time."

"We've seen him. Today in fact." The one with the grating voice snapped his fingers and two men grabbed Bates and one put a hand on Anna's shoulder. "But that's something we should discuss in private."

They shuffled to a room behind the bar and the men holding both Bates and Anna shoved them toward chairs. Anna straightened her dress and sat on the edge, crossing her legs while Bates made himself a bit more comfortable. The three circled again, like vultures closing in on rotting flesh.

"One of our men found Green dead this morning."

"Must've shocked them." Bates risked and the man behind him grabbed his arm. The motion tugged Bates out of the chair and onto the floor. He caught himself on his knees as the man yanked his arm straight and held his right hand to the table.

"Do you know why Green wanted you in the first place, Mr. Bates?"

"Couldn't have been my charming personality could it?"

The man holding Bates's arm in place drove his elbow into the back of Bates's hand. He grunted with the pain as the man with the grating voice sat on the edge of the table and lit a cigarette. "I can have Rupert here do this all day."

"I'm being held down by a man named Rupert?" Bates laughed and Rupert grabbed a finger. He snapped it out of joint and Bates groaned.

"Did you kill Green?"

"Of course I did." Bates stared the man in the face, "He was betraying you."

"Excuse me?"

"Mr. Bates here killed a traitor." Anna said and the eyes of the men in the room finally turned to her. She shrugged, "Mr. Green had been reporting on your activities to Naval Intelligence for the last three weeks."

"How'd you know that?" The smaller of the three men came around the table to Anna. "What do you know about Green?"

"I know he started clandestinely meeting with my employer and my employer is head of Naval Intelligence." Anna crossed her legs, "I told Mr. Bates about it and he did you a favor."

"Mr. Bates never received authorization to cultivate his own agent or to eliminate one of our operatives." The former middle man, who had a nasty habit of running his fingers through his hair, paced. "What were you doing with him?"

"Mr. Bates and I've been together for years. His wife cultivated me when she was still at large." Anna waited as the three men exchanged looks, "I'm sure you're aware that Mrs. Bates is actually Mrs. Bernhard, the German spy."

"She cultivated you?"

"How'd you think she got her information?" Anna shivered, "Is it possible for a girl to get a jacket in this freezing room?"

Bates shoved off the man holding him to the table and removed his jacket, covering Anna before popping his finger back in place. "Ms. Jones and I've been working to find the edges of my wife's network now that she's behind bars. Green was our first lead and he turned out to be a dead end."

"We should just go," Anna put a hand on Bates's arm, "They're probably plants like Green."

"Green worked with us for four years."

"Then I guess you've got more than a few leaks to investigate." Anna pointed to the door, "This has been a terrible evening."

"Wait," Anna and Bates froze, exchanging a look before they both turned to the three men now worrying their hands. "What do you know?"

"Naval Intelligence is handling the body and processing Green personally to make sure none of his information falls into the wrong hands." Bates pointed to the trio, "Meaning you, in case you're not sharp enough to get it since you proved thick enough to trust Green."

"And we should trust you?"

"His wife's in prison for giving her attentions to the Führer." Anna crossed her arms over her chest in Bates's jacket, "You didn't think Mr. Bates's absolute denial of any knowledge of his wife's activities strange?"

The three men looked confused and Anna rolled her eyes, "How else to stay free but to let her take the punishment for stupidity?"

"You've no mercy for her?"

"She's of no use to us in prison." Bates pointed to the trio, "And it would seem the three of you are as useful to us as she is."

"What if we could offer you Green's position, what could you offer us in return?" The man with the grating voice insisted and Bates pursed his lips.

"I could offer you contact with my wife. I'm allowed to see her and even from inside I know there are details to her operation that could be of use to you. Things Ms. Jones and I could never do on our own."

"And her?" The man pointed at Anna and she laughed.

"I work with Mr. Bates. I'm his mole inside."

The trio bent their heads together to whisper a moment before turning back to Bates and Anna. "Alright. You take over Green's duties."

"I'll need the details to what he did. I only saw the smuggling side."

"It's more than that," One of the trio pulled out a German gun, showing it to the room, "Much more than that."

* * *

Anna opened the door to her flat and Bates followed her inside. She shucked off her coat, only barely hanging it in the closet before motioning for Bates to do the same. He followed her example, leaning his walking stick on the hallway table as Anna slipped out of her shoes and collapsed on her sofa.

"This is worse than we thought."

"I'd say." Bates joined her, pulling to loosen his tie, "Green managed all that?"

"And that's only a fraction of their operation."

"I shudder to think what else they've got."

"I never would've given Green enough credit to run all that himself with any efficiency but I guess people surprise you." Anna closed her eyes a moment, "The Admiral'll suffer a heart attack when he finds all this went on under his nose."

"And he'll be even more upset when he realizes we can't act on it yet."

"He won't like that 'not yet' part." Anna leaned forward, holding her elbows on her knees and wrapping her hands on the back of her neck. "Pray for the prevail of cooler heads."

She looked over to see Bates staring at her, "What?" He only pointed and Anna looked over her shoulder to see the edge of a scar showing. "That's nothing."

"What is it?"

"It's a scar, Mr. Bernhard, I'm sure you've got your own collection." She stood, "Don't we all?"

"That's not-" Bates stood as well, blocking her, "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean, Mr. Bernhard?"

"I meant," He reached out a hand, his finger barely touching her shoulder, "I want to know the story behind it."

"Why?"

"Because," Bates stepped closer and it took all of Anna's nerve not to back away, "I want to know all there is to know about you, Anna."

"Why?"

"Because," Bates put his head down, drifting his lips over her neck, "I can't love someone I don't know."

"Who-" Anna tried to catch her breath as his kisses ran down to the edge of her dress, his tongue slipping around the low collar, "Who said anything about love?"

"I did." Bates lifted his head and kissed at the edge of the scar, "Where'd you get this Anna?"

"That was from Cairo." Anna reached out a hand to hold the edge of the sofa as her knees almost buckled. "Someone threw a knife and it buried itself in my shoulder. Saturday and Sunday didn't know if I could use my arm again because of the damage but they patched me back up."

"Hm," Bates hummed against her shoulder, "There's more to this scar."

"There's always more to every story and always more scars. Every scar has a story much longer than we realize."

"No," He laughed against her skin and she could feel the vibrations, which only set her blood heating, "I meant there's more to this scar under your dress."

"Yes."

"I'd like to remove it."

"Yes," Anna grabbed Bates's face and kissed him, "But not here."

"Not-"

Anna grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her room. He followed, kicking off his shoes on the way and shucking off his jacket in the hallway. She opened the door and dragged him over the threshold, using his braces to pull his head to hers.

He immediately filled her mouth with his tongue and lifted her from the floor, carrying her to the bed with only the light from the sitting room down the hall and the lamp outside to let them see one another. Anna felt the mattress at her back and pulled her leg up to his hip, wrapping around it to hold him to her. He groaned into the kiss and rocked his hips toward her.

Anna ran her fingers down to his loosened tie and pulled it from around his neck, dropping it over the side of the bed. Her fingers popped the buttons on his shirt and exposed his chest to her view. She broke the kiss to run her lips down the scars that whitened his skin in patches and stripes.

"What are these from?" She asked, running her tongue over the knotted skin and heard Bates hiss above her.

"Fire."

"Really?" She continued the trail down to his trousers. "What fire?"

"It was at the barracks in Shanghai. A mob of angry locals firebombed us and there were two sailors trapped inside." His breath hitched as she edged her tongue under the band of his trousers. "I went in after them."

"A hero?" Anna worked her way back up and forced Bates to look at her, "I happen to like those."

Bates grinned at her and leaned back enough to flip Anna onto her stomach. He worked the straps of the dress from her shoulders and started sliding the dress down her body. The silkiness of the material helped but Anna grinned to herself when she heard Bates's groan at the sight of her bare back.

"No brassiere?"

"Not with the dress." Anna felt Bates's kiss on the scar from Cairo.

"What about this one?" His kisses moved to the back of her neck, "Garrote?"

"Paris. He almost had me and I only got away because I stabbed him in the thigh with a pen." Anna looked over her shoulder, "You would never believe how helpful fountain pens are in the moment."

"I believe it." Bates kissed her lips before working down her back again, running hot kisses to the line of her knickers. "Any scars here?"

"You'll know soon enough." Anna turned herself around fast enough to trap Bates's hands in the cuffs of his shirt as she drove her tongue into his mouth.

Bates pressed her back to kneel on the bed with his weight above her as Anna unbuckled his braces and belt before dropping his trousers. He kicked them off while wrestling his shirt from his arms. Anna kissed her way down his chest again and then to his side, running her fingers along a dark scar on his lower back.

"I met a Cossack in French-Indochina who didn't care for the way I dumped his opium in the river," Bates answered, his hands now on her thighs. "What about the one here?"

Anna shivered as Bates's finger moved over one near her hip, "Congo."

"Your priest?"

"It's how I saved the priest." Anna put her hands around Bates's neck and lay back on the bed. "Sniper at fifty yards and I hit him right between the eyes."

Bates smiled and then stopped. Anna furrowed her brow then realized what Bates saw. Even with the little light available, the scars crisscrossing her torso practically glowed.

Anna went to cover herself but Bates stopped her. He followed the trail of the scars to her knickers and looked at her. She nodded and he dragged them down her legs to ensure her hipbones were where the scaring ended.

He touched the first one, tracing down from one to the next until he reached the end before starting up another path. Anna practically vibrated with tension while fighting the urge to grab a blanket or simply succumb to the gentle brushes of his fingers on her skin. She sighed a moment when he replaced his fingers with his lips and repeated his pattern.

"Istanbul." She managed, her focus almost lost when he kissed one breast. "There was a group of Albanians that didn't much care for how I burned their brothel to the ground."

"I hope you burned them too."

"I managed to leave them all hanging by their genitals." Anna raised her head as Bates stopped at one breast, "I told you I'd seen worse than the other night."

"And I told you something too." Bates blew hot air over one of Anna's breasts as his hands smoothed down her sides.

"What?"

"That you'd forget all about time." Bates took one of her breasts in his mouth as his fingers stroked her from perineum to clit.

Anna's head went back on the bed, crying out as Bates worked her. Even in the moment they briefly shared against the wall of the dingy flat she knew he was talented. But here, with his mouth laving her breasts to full sensitivity and his fingers working their way inside her, Anna knew she only scratched the surface.

She dug her hands into the hair at the back of his head and rocked her hips into his hands. His fingers slipped inside her and she gasped with it. Bates kissed up to her neck, sucking at her pulse before dragging two fingers down her from the inside.

"The others-"

"What others?" Anna gritted her teeth when his third finger entered her, finding the spot and pressing on it.

"Those selfish boys who thought they had you." Bates growled in her ear and Anna tried to shift to see him but it only drove his fingers in her further. "They had no idea what you wanted."

"What do I want?"

"Me." He kissed her and pressed down where she radiated hottest.

Anna screamed out as the colors danced in front of her eyes. She could hardly tell where she was or when she was. But as her vision cleared she saw Bates, holding himself above her while his hands massaged her body to calm through the shivers.

"Delivered as promised." He smiled and went to move but Anna hooked her leg over his hip and flipped him onto his back with her straddling his waist.

"I'm not finished." She opened his pants and dragged them off his legs.

There he was, laying naked on her bed and at her mercy. It had Anna running her tongue over her teeth in anticipation. She slipped back up and felt something under her left hand. Looking down she noticed a scar that wrapped from his knee all the way to his hip.

"India." Bates had a hand on her arm, "A flaming whip if you believe it."

"Why?"

"Admiral Crawley got himself into a spot of trouble with some rebels and needed a little saving. One of them was skilled with a signature weapon and I caught it around my leg."

"Always the hero." Anna started at his knee and ran her tongue over the scar until she reached his hip. "You deserve a reward."

"What kind?"

"Me." Anna wrapped a hand around him and stroked to his tip, spreading her finger in the moisture there, "Are you ready for me John?"

"Yes."

"Good," Anna crawled up and kissed his cheek, "Because I've been waiting far too long for this."

She positioned her knees on either side of his hips and sank down on him. Her eyes closed as he hit as deep as he could go inside her. He moaned and Anna opened her eyes.

"Something wrong?"

"No," He shook his head, unable to open his eyes, "Everything's perfect."

"Perfect?" Anna lifted slightly and sunk down again, "Do you mean that?"

"Yes," Bates nodded as fast as his head could go, "I do."

"We're in agreement then," Anna twisted and heard Bates gasp, "Because I think you're the best I've ever had."

He groaned and Anna increased the pace. She worked her hips to gyrate and ran her hands down his chest, scraping her nails on the delicate scars that dotted him like hers did. Bates's hands managed to latch hold on her hips and eventually he found his own rhythm, working his way into her to strike her as deep as he could go every time.

Anna moved her fingers to where they joined and pressed at her center, bringing herself almost to the peak. Another set of fingers joined hers and Bates sent her over the edge again, calling out her name when he joined her. She fell onto his torso, breathing heavily to match his heaving chest.

Something vibrated and she looked up to see him laughing. "What's funny?"

"We're doomed to only say one another's real names when we're like this aren't we?" Bates met her eyes as Anna sat up slightly.

"Maybe." She smiled, "But I wouldn't mind getting you to say my name again. Or having me say yours."

"What do you mean?"

"If this is the only time we use our names," Anna grinned and nipped at his lips, "Then we should try to say them as often as we can."


	6. Dawn

Anna took a deep breath and felt something at her back. She blinked and turned over her shoulder, smiling to see Bates there. She turned to lean herself over his chest and ran a finger down his nose. He sniffed but did not open his eyes. She went to do it again but he caught her hand.

"If you're going to start with something like that this early, Ms. Monday, you'd better be prepared to finish what you start."

Anna, using her hands on his chest as leverage, leaned toward his ear, "Who said I wouldn't finish, Mr. Bernhard?"

He blinked his eyes open, smiling at her, "I'd be curious to see what you'd have in mind."

"I don't know," Anna tilted herself back, biting her lip, "You might not be able to handle it."

"Really?" Bates sat up, "What makes you say that?"

"Well," Anna straddled Bates's lap, "I do this for a living."

"Not the kind of living your mother wanted for you I'm sure," Bates danced his fingers up her legs, "Especially not when it gave you all these scars."

Anna stopped, staring at Bates, "What about what your mother thinks of your scars?"

"I got them in service to my country."

"That's where I got mine, Mr. Bernhard." Anna draped her arms over his shoulders, "And I'm proud of them. Even if I can't show my mother or tell her how I got them I'm proud of what they represent."

"I am too," Bates traced the bullet graze from the Congo, "How many people've seen your scars?"

"By that I assume you men how many men've seen them yes?"

"If you don't mind a moment of jealousy." Bates stopped, "You don't, do you?"

"Why would I? Every woman needs a man to be jealous over her once in a while. Besides, no one else ever cared enough to ask." Anna glanced down at the scars on her torso, "Most men I've had to seduce for King and country were done before I even had a moment to think about it. Selfish and unimpressive on the whole."

"Up with the skirt and done with it?" Bates leaned back, "Like in that flat?"

"Mr. Bernhard," Anna put a hand to his cheek, "That was business."

"Doesn't make it better."

"It was the most pleasurable business I've ever had." She grinned, "But if you're insistent then yes, most times it's been up with the skirt and over. Price of the job I do but it worked and I only regret the number of men who tore skirts I liked."

"Then no one serious?"

"There was one once," Anna shrugged, "But when I told him I wanted to fight, to protect my country, he thought I was mad."

"Mad?"

"He said a woman's place is to keep the home fires burning not to go and light the fires under Hitler's ass." Anna snorted, "He was nervous to go to war and didn't like that I wasn't."

"What happened to him?"

"I don't know. I broke it off the moment he tried to stop me answering Friday's call to work for Naval Intelligence. That's when I realized he saw me as something to put in a home, like furniture, instead of someone to help him build a home."

"And now?"

Anna rolled her eyes, "He leads his local brigade. He never had the courage to enlist himself."

Bates managed half a laugh, "I actually meant, what about building a home?"

"What about it?"

"Have you found anyone to build a home with you?"

Anna cocked her head sideways, "Is that your way of proposing to me Mr. Bernhard? Because if it is I'll have you know we're barely acquainted."

"I'd say we've gotten very acquainted." Bates shifted Anna slightly and brushed his growing arousal against her so she gasped. "Unless you disagree."

"What if I say I do?"

"Then I'll just have to prove how well we know one another." Bates put a hand to the back of Anna's neck but just stroked there, "You've seen my scars."

"I can't be the only one who's seen your scars." Anna fingered one of the burn marks on his chest, "You were married."

"Doesn't mean she ever saw them," Bates stroked Anna's hair, "Your marks aren't the only ones who ripped skirts in a rush."

"John?"

"I'm not proud of the man I was with my wife. The violent drunk who took what he wanted from an equally violent wife. We were all fire and rage with one another, taking what we wanted. There wasn't love there." Bates hung his head, "When I came home injured she'd look at me like I was broken and refused to see what she thought ruined me. That was the end and I didn't even know it. Every time I look at my scars I'm reminded of what I thought was happiness and what a fool I was to believe it for even a moment."

Anna put her hands on Bates's cheeks, "No one's a fool to believe in happiness. We all need it. Even for that moment."

"Not if it's a lie and that's what I think about when I think about my scars."

Anna shrugged, "I only think about my scars when I see myself in the mirror. Otherwise I try to forget they're there."

"Why?"

"Because," Anna dropped his gaze, feeling tears at the corners of her eyes, "They show me the person I am now."

"And who's that?"

"Damaged."

"Then we'll be damaged together." Bates moved his other hand between them and stroked at the juncture between Anna's legs.

"I can't promise you anything about together." Anna moved toward his hand, "I can only promise you right now."

"I'd never ask for more." Bates worked his fingers where he wanted and paused, "I promise you I'll never ask anything of you."

"Why not?" Anna felt her breath catch as Bates eased a finger into her.

"Because you're worth more than that to me. I admit I haven't known you long but I've seen your scars and you don't belong home stoking the home fires. You belong exactly where you are doing what you do." Bates paused, holding her open, "Whatever man you choose in the end will know that too Anna."

Anna lifted and sunk down on Bates. He groaned as Anna rocked toward him and tightened her thighs on his when he tried to speak. She distracted him by seizing his mouth when she rocked against him again. He broke the kiss and held her back to look in her eyes.

"Why?"

"Because you say my name when I do this." She rose and fell again, sending his eyelids fluttering, "And I like hearing my real name from someone who's seen the real me."

Bates put his hands on her hips then and thrust up into her. Anna pressed on his shoulders, sending him back down onto the bed. His angle inside her changed and Anna gasped at the now zinging nerves. She put her hands on Bates's chest, grinning down at him, "How much do you like hearing your name?"

"More than you know?"

"More than I know?" She gyrated and he grunted. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." He hissed through gritted teeth.

"Want to make a bet on that Mr. Bernhard?" Anna swayed above Bates, watching his arms flex as he tightened his grip on her hips. "I think I can make you say my name before I say yours."

"Is that so?" He plunged inside her and Anna's breath caught in her throat. "Because I don't think so."

"I guess we'll find out." Anna reached behind her and grabbed Bates's sack. "I like my odds."

He grunted and leaned up again, wrapping an arm around her back, "I like mine better."

He flipped them and Anna landed on her back on the bed. Her breathing increased as Bates leaned over her, kissing at her neck. Anna felt him striking at her nerves, setting her on fire, but a rising panic filled her lungs and she adjusted, landing him back on his back.

Bates stared up at her as Anna stopped them a moment, "Sorry."

"What's wrong?"

"I can't-" Anna adjusted her position and began again, "Never mind."

"An-" Bates groaned as Anna dug her nails into his skin, attacking his mouth.

She rode him for all she was worth, his fingers returning to her center and pressing into her. She drove them forward, listening for Bates to lose control. He broke a moment later, thrusting into her with all he had until he finished, crying out her name. Anna used his fingers at her center and her own movements on the tail end of his climax to finish, crying out his name into his shoulder.

She stayed on his chest a moment before whispering, "I won."

"I think you cheated."

Anna did not answer, going to move off him but he caught her hand. She stared at Bates as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand, "Don't go."

"We've got to get moving Mr. Bernhard." She tried to smile, "Someone might see you leaving my flat and ruin everything."

"No one from Green's side'll think anything odd when I leave your flat the morning after they saw us at the club together." Bates ran his hand up to her shoulder and back to her hand, pulling the back of it to his mouth to kiss it, "And I don't care about anyone from headquarters seeing me."

"Oh," Anna slipped off him and moved to his side, "What do you care about Mr. Bernhard?"

"You."

"Me?" Anna flipped her hair, "I'm flattered."

"I'm serious, Anna." Bates went to say something then stopped himself before starting again, "You panicked."

"No I didn't."

"Your eyes got wide, your breathing changed, and you flipped me as soon as you could. Why?"

Anna ducked her head, "It's training. Anyone over me makes me immediately assume a threat and respond. If we'd continued with you on top I'd try to throw you or strangle you and that's not how I wanted this particular activity to end this morning."

"I didn't want to end it as we did."

Anna shook her head, "If it's not what you want-"

"Hey," Bates caught her chin, forcing her to look at him, "If you thought I said I minded you on top then you didn't hear me. I just noted that you panicked."

"You said you didn't want to end it like we did."

"As a power struggle, Anna." Bates put his hands on hers, "I want you as comfortable as possible and if that means you're always on top then so be it but I don't want you to panic again. I don't want you afraid or reacting on instinct."

"I don't either."

"If you need anything then just tell me." He grinned, "I'm flexible."

"I can tell." She kissed him quickly, "But I can handle myself so no need to worry."

Bates shifted slightly to look at her, "I don't doubt you can handle yourself but that just makes me curious."

"About what?"

"How you got yourself captured by Green." He ran a finger down the fading bruise and cut on the side of her head. "I didn't expect you to be there when he led me to his flat."

"I didn't think he'd bring back an audience. Any more than I thought those men'd at the Celsior would leave you with just this." Anna caught his hand, now a purpling mass from the elbow liberally applied. She caressed it and heard his hiss.

"You're good at dodging questions Ms. Smith."

"Because it's a rookie mistake," Anna took a deep breath, "I underestimated him. I thought he'd be longer at the docks when I broke into his flat but he came back early."

"You find what you needed?"

"Found more than I needed." She smiled at him, "I got the angle on his operation that'll have his bosses scrambling to deny Green betrayed them when Naval Intelligence acts on it."

"What we know barely scratched the surface of what he was doing." Bates lay back on the bed, "We never imagined it."

"No, we didn't." Anna crawled over to drape herself partway on his chest, "But the information headquarters has now is enough to convince Green's organization he works for Naval Intelligence and that we did them a favor. It answers our problems of how to get in on their plans."

"Still doesn't answer how Green got the drop on you." Bates leaned up enough to kiss the injury on her head, "Someone as good as you wouldn't be caught so easily by someone as inexperienced as Green."

"I'm not superhuman Mr. Bates," Anna chided, flicking at his shoulder, "I got distracted with what I found. I tend to get very involved in my tasks as I'm sure you know."

"Oh I do. You're very thorough."

"Thank you," Anna rolled her shoulders as if preening, "I was deep in my reading and he surprised me."

"What'd he use?"

"Homemade brass knuckles," Anna scoffed, "Bugger twisted metal clothing hangers together. That's what cut me."

"I'm sorry," Bates put his hands over hers, "I shudder to think what he'd have done to you if he hadn't-"

"Gotten too excited over his discovery?" Anna shook her head, "Nothing I haven't seen or been threatened with before, Mr. Bates. You'd be surprised at how unoriginal men are when they threaten women."

"What about how we threatened his operation last night?" Bates slid his fingers through Anna's hair.

"Headquarters has enough to make them nervous but the real victory for us was their fear."

"Fear?"

Anna nodded, "They're afraid what we said is true. They're afraid their operation is compromised and since they'll see Naval Intelligence strip Green's flat bare and act on what we gave them the other night they'll have their worst fears confirmed."

"Because people are stupid?"

"Because people are stupid. But thank goodness they are or they wouldn't have led us right to the center of their little organization." Anna kissed him, "You're new to all this but the first rule is that people in our line of work act on the basic instinct of fear."

"I'm getting that impression." Bates sighed, leaning his head back, "Better to assume the worst than hope for the best?"

"Something like that." Anna settled next to him, her head going to his shoulder.

"Not a great lifestyle."

"It can't be worse than the Navy." Anna lifted her head, "What was your guiding star there?"

"Honor."

"Honor?"

"I'd like to think so. Some did it for duty and others served to avoid punishment. I met more than a few who did it to meet more women in more places so they could sleep in more beds and risk more VDs than their little minds in tiny villages could imagine but the majority were good people who wanted to do good in the world." Bates sighed, "It feels like worlds apart from the life you lead Ms. Monday."

"You mean never using your real name, always having two excuses and three stories on the fly, or pretending you're not frightened out of your mind as you stare down the barrel of yet another gun?" Anna pushed herself up, "It is worlds apart from the life you led and not at all the life my mother planned for me."

"I'd be curious what Mrs. Smith planned for her golden haired child when she was nothing but bouncing curls and blue eyes." Bates sat up as Anna crawled out of the bed.

"I never had bouncing curls."

"But still golden hair."

"It hung limp and straw-like until I was fifteen," She bent to pick up her dress off the floor, "But since you asked, my mother's greatest wish was for me to marry a nice village boy, settling into a cottage on the same street, and work in a shop until child-bearing kept me home waiting for my husband."

"The spineless man working home brigade?"

"Yes. The same one who still lives in my hometown. The one my mother insists will take me back if I beg him to." Anna held out her arms, "I don't know how to tell her I'd rather die then grovel to him or that he'd die of shock if he saw these."

"Tell her he'd run away like a scared little boy," Bates sat on the edge of the bed. "You need a man to build a home with you."

"Putting your hat into the ring Mr. Bernhard?" Anna found her knickers and walked toward the door.

Bates's hands wrapped around her from behind as he whispered in her ear, "And if I was?"

"Then I'd say we should focus first on saving the home we have before we want to build another." Anna craned her head to see the clock down the hall, "We have two hours until we need to be at headquarters."

"That's more than enough time." Bates kissed from her ear down to her neck and Anna felt herself vibrate all over.

"Time for what?"

"A bath, Ms. Monday," Bates scooped her up, "I'd say you earned it."

"We'd save water if we share it." She smiled and he kissed her lips.

"In the interest of being good citizens, I think we should."


	7. Briefing

Bates hissed as he dunked his hand into the bowl of ice Saturday offered him. "Thank you Saturday."

"I think you should've iced it immediately after the injury." She sat down and checked over his hand, "It'd stop the swelling before it got this bad but now I'm just trying to keep it down."

"I would've but I got distracted." Bates snuck a look over the table to where Anna chatted with Mary. She caught his eye and winked before returning to her discussion.

"Must've been some distraction," Phyllis pulled some ointment from a bag, "To ignore this kind of pain."

"It was something." Bates grimaced slightly as she applied it to his hand, "I hope the degree of sting is directly proportional to the healing effect."

"I wouldn't say directly proportional." Phyllis narrowed her eyes, studying the injuries, turning his hand as she did so, "But it's efficient."

"Excellent. Thank you Saturday." He took his hand back and Phyllis gathered her things.

"It's what I do. Use the ointment and soak in hot water. It should be barely noticeable tomorrow."

"I'll do it," John raised the tube before tucking into his pocket. Phyllis gave him a small smile before leaving the office as Admiral Crawley addressed the table.

"Thanks to the efforts of Mr. Bernhard and Ms. Monday we've shut down significant sections of the smuggling ring Mr. Green arranged for himself and his friends. Can you tell us what you've found Tuesday?"

"We're still sifting through the data," Talbot pointed to one of the files in front of him. "They're not using Enigma for their coding so it was easy to break but given that Ms. Monday and Mr. Bernhard had to toss Green under the bus on this I'd guess they'll change their codes for the next round."

"Would you need us to get that to you?" Bates leaned forward on the table, wincing when he accidently put pressure on his hand.

"If you can do it without giving yourself away I think that'd be more than helpful. If not I've a lot of faith in my code cracking team. They may be Bletchley Park cast offs but they're more than enough to hand this group."

"It's been my impression," Anna cut in, "That they're not well organized. For a subversive organization I'd have expected more but even my cursory investigation of Green's flat led me to a lode of information."

"They're not well organized because they're not in contact with the people they think they are." Admiral Crawley opened a file and slid it to the middle of the table. "Based on the information Tuesday's already gone through and the ground work Thomas and Thursday have done for us here, I'm confident that they're just a band of malcontented men who found someone to use them for their own means."

"Then we're not even fighting Hitler with this?" Mary huffed, "It's a waste."

"Not necessarily," Bates held up a finger, "When Mrs. Bernhard was discovered as a spy it wasn't because they caught her at a dead drop. They found her through the loose lips of a disgruntled government employee."

"What's your point?"

"We'd like to think that the enemy is insidious, seeking only the very angry or the very stupid to do their work but that's not who they need."

"That's how we fished you for them." Anna shook her head, "I don't understand."

"This group, Green's network, is filled with people who aren't seeing what they thought they'd see in the war. They're men about my age who lived and possibly fought in the first war. They saw action then but now times are harder, they're lives are changed, and they're not seeing the swift victory they thought they'd earned so now they're taking their entitlement to the next logical outcome."

"War profiteering." Admiral Crawley slapped a hand on the table, "Bloody ungrateful."

"So to whom are they selling? Who are they buying from? Why the small arms?" Anna waved her hand at the file on the table, "I've worked at this for some time and I've never seen an operation that works like they do."

"They're selling to others as disgruntled as themselves. It wouldn't surprise me if the next meeting we attend talks about an overthrow of the government or other nonsense." Bates jabbed his finger in the direction of the file, "I've seen this on Navy ships and on Navy docks. Sailors unhappy with their lot taking it upon themselves to benefit on the back of another's suffering."

"Then they're not even serious militia?" Mary made a note, "We just roast them out then."

"No," Anna shook her head, "Mr. Bernhard's right. We have to find out the extent of their operation. No offense to the men at this table, but male entitlement isn't going to be solved by stopping some shipments of small arms at the East India Docks."

"She's right," Talbot pointed at Anna, "From what I've read, the organization is connected. I wouldn't be surprised if the network had some MPs in its pocket or even a few Lords. Anyone stands to make a fortune if they play their cards right in this and given the lack of brains in spending when it comes to the upper echelon, they'll need all the money they can manage."

"Then what's the next move?" Admiral Crawley pointed to his office door, "Because I've got other agents out there chomping at the bit to prove themselves in something like this."

"We need people on the ground. Drones for them to scoop up that can get lips flapping." Anna bit the inside of her cheek, "This might not be a bad time to reconsider the recruitment of women to this division sir."

"As honey traps?"

"Men tend to speak their minds with far fewer barriers when they believe they're about to have the time of their lives." Anna shrugged and Bates laughed to himself. "In my experience one gets more from pillow talk than torture."

"Men also make themselves seem a bit more grand than they really are in those moments." Mary raised an eyebrow, still looking at her notes. Bates caught the way Talbot studied her and suppressed another chuckle. "I don't want to waste time with lies of men who believe they've more to offer than they really do."

"Be that as it may, get enough of them talking and we find the truth buried under inflated self-importance." Anna turned to Admiral Crawley, "I know of two women ready for that kind of action sir. Three if you think we can trust Ms. Braithwaite."

"The answer to the last is I don't think we can but we'll have Friday watch her at all times." Admiral Crawley looked down at Mary, "Are you satisfied with that?"

"If I can keep that woman from frustrating our work with her own agenda again, I happily volunteer my services." Mary closed her notepad, "I don't think she'll be any good at it but here's to hoping."

"Who are the other two women, Monday?"

"Mrs. Harding and Ms. Parks."

"Gwen's married Monday." Mary shook her head, "We can't use her."

"Not everyone needs to actually have sex with them." Anna sighed, "Some only have to get a little beer in their bellies before they would tell you where they buried their life savings. Gwen's excellent at getting people to talk and I think we should use that skill. She wants to."

"What kind of training would they need?" Admiral Crawley cut Mary off before she could continue her argument.

"Basic interrogation and lifts. After a couple practice runs with some of the others wanting to prove themselves we could put them on the street with no trouble."

"Then I'll assign you to coordinate that while Mr. Bernhard works the business angle of Mr. Green's enterprise." Admiral Crawley paused, pursing his lips. Everyone at the table, from Bates to Anna to Talbot to Mary, looked at one another before Mary braved the silence to speak.

"Is there anything else, Admiral?"

"It's something I believe I should address with Mr. Bernhard and Ms. Monday alone." Admiral Crawley waited for Mary and Talbot to stand. "Friday, please contact Ms. Parks and Ms. Braithwaite as soon as you can and have Mrs. Harding sent down from the line taps."

"Yes sir." Mary went to the door, scowling when Talbot beat her there and held it open for her. She huffed and walked through it. Talbot shrugged and followed her as Bates shook his head.

Admiral Crawley did not speak until the door firmly closed. He sat at the table with Bates and Anna. His fingers templed, then interlaced, then folded, and finally he used them to press on the tabletop as he stood again. "I'm sorry I have to ask this but have you two engaged in sexual activities?"

Bates gaped and caught Anna blushing at the edges of her cheeks but she retained her composure. She shot him a look and he nodded. Turning to Admiral Crawley Bates cleared his throat, "Would it matter?"

"It matters if it conflicts with the level of commitment you have to your work."

"I don't think that's a problem sir." Anna interjected. "If anything had happened then it was in keeping with the personas we developed explicitly for this endeavor."

"Then you're saying any fornication is entirely mission related? That such a relationship, to you, is professional?"

"No, we're saying if there was then it would be in aid of the mission sir." Anna sat straighter in her chair, her lips twitching toward a smile. "I'd think a little practice in getting to know the person working with you is never something to turn down if it helps the efficacy of the mission."

"I may not be the sharpest tack but I do know that the two of you are purposefully dancing around the question."

"Is it against regulations, sir?" Bates put up a hand to stop Anna from answering. "As far as I'm aware Ms. Monday is a civilian operative for Naval Intelligence and therefore, if we were engaging in sexual activities, there is no risk of disobeying rules about rank or those about associations between an officers and enlisted persons."

"You're right, Ms. Monday is a civilian."

"And," Bates continued, "Our first encounter was with her portraying a prostitute to help me sell the cover of being down on my luck and out a bit. If, in that context, we had sex then wouldn't it contribute to the building of that cover?"

"Yes," Admiral Crawley squirmed, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "But, be that as it may, continuing a relationship in these circumstances leaves you vulnerable."

"Would you rather we tell you that we're blowing off steam sir?" Anna spoke and Bates watched Admiral Crawley redden from his collar to his forehead.

"Excuse me?"

"There are some psychoanalysts under the belief that sex is a tool used for relaxation." Anna crossed one leg over the other, "If we're in a high stress environment, which I believe anyone who attempts to pretend to be someone else for a living will say is a fact, then we need a way to safely rid ourselves of the excess pressure."

"You're saying that you and Mr. Bernhard would engage in such activities as a way to blow off steam?"

"In a manner of speaking." Anna smiled and Bates gritted his teeth to keep himself from beaming at her.

"Then it's nothing serious that'll interfere with your work?"

"I think Ms. Monday and I aren't in any danger of forgetting our priorities to King and country, sir." Bates opened his hands, "Any other questions?"

"No," Admiral Crawley nodded and gestured toward the door. "I think you'd better get along before someone suspects you more than they already do. You're both dismissed."

"Yes sir." Bates saluted and walked to the door, holding it open for Anna before following her out. They stopped outside the door and Bates blew out a breath, "That was close."

Anna sidled up to him, running her hand down his lapel, "I'll say."

"Perhaps you'd both do well not to flirt quite so much in the office." Bates and Anna turned to see Mary at her desk. She forced a tight smile at them, "It's not as if anyone else couldn't feel the heat coming off you two."

"Complaining, Friday?"

"Yes. If you have steam you want blown off, Mr. Bernhard, I'd suggest using a broom cupboard or the men's lavatory."

"Were you listening at the door?" Anna narrowed her eyes at Mary, "That's low, even for you."

"Firstly, we work in intelligence so it's my job to know things. Second," Mary held up a second finger, "I don't need to listen. I've planted devices around the whole office to do that for me."

"There goes all the trust." Bates groaned and Mary shrugged.

"Welcome to the world of intelligence, Mr. Bernhard."

* * *

Bates opened the door to his flat and paused when he heard someone in his kitchen. He left his coat on the hook, closing the door as quietly as possible, and stalked down the hallway. Rounding the corner he saw Anna pulling something off the stove. She saw him and jumped slightly, dodging out of the way of a splash of water escaping her pot.

"You can't do that."

"I've just found an invader in my home so I think I can." Bates unbuttoned his jacket and hung it on the back of a chair before loosening his tie. "Though I've never had one who made me… what did you making?"

"Nothing romantic." She put the pot on the holder on the table, removing the mitts on her hands. "It's hot water."

"For what?"

"Your hand." She pointed to his still swollen appendage, "You need that seen to and I overheard Saturday telling you how to treat your injury."

"She said hot water and the ointment," John checked his pockets and then dug in his coat. "Which I think I left at headquarters."

"You didn't." Anna held up the tube, between thumb and forefinger to see-saw it in her loose grip. "I lifted it from your jacket."

"You performed a lift on me?"

"It wasn't hard," Anna pulled another chair close to his, dipping a cloth in the water, "You were focused on my ass."

"It's a nice ass."

"Thank you. I worked as a maid when I was younger. All those stairs did wonders for my legs." She winked at Bates as he groaned, "I could tell you other things."

"Better not." Bates refocused, "How are your recruits?"

"Gwen's a natural," Anna wiped at his hand before wrapping it in the cloth. He hissed, "Sorry, it's hot."

"Yes it is." He gritted his teeth, "What's this supposed to do?"

"Enlarge the pores? My mother taught me this trick for washing my face. It'll open the skin so I can get more ointment in to help it soothe." Anna held Bates's hand in hers for another moment before unwrapping it. "What'd you mother teach you?"

"Nothing I listened to until too late."

"How'd you mean?"

"She said to marry for love and I married for sex. She said to not marry the woman I married and I did anyway. And she said I'd regret not retiring from the Navy when Robert did."

"Do you?" Anna rubbed the ointment into Bates's hand.

"I did when Vera was arrested but not anymore."

"Why's that?" Anna manipulated his hand, making sure she had rubbed the ointment into his skin.

"If I'd left the Navy then I couldn't work for Naval Intelligence and we never would've met." Bates leaned forward, putting his face near Anna's. "I'd consider that a tragedy."

"Would your mother?"

"She'd like you so I think she'd take back her advice about me resigning my commission." Bates allowed Anna to dunk his hand in the now cooler water. "I wish you could've met my mother."

"I imagine she was a formidable woman to raise you." Anna stood, walking to the fridge, "Though I bemoan she never taught you to cook."

"That's where you'd be wrong," Bates checked his hand before dunking it back in the water, "She taught me all her kitchen skills. What's lacking would be the diversity in my diet or food in my refrigerator."

"I've never seen someone who had so many bottles of condiments and nothing to put it on."

"I'm never home."

"Well," Anna closed the door, "You soak that hand until I get back."

"Are you cooking for me?"

"No," She made a face as she pulled on her coat and made for the hidden stairs to the roof, "I'm buying the food so you can cook for me. I'm of no use in the kitchen."

"Your mother never taught you?"

"My mother had a hard enough time stopping me running away to daydream or plan out fantasies where I saved helpless princesses from dragons. I imagine that if not directly instructed or constantly supervised I would've burned her house down being too occupied fighting imaginary monsters." Anna pointed at the pot, "Keep your hand in there until I get back. If it's out for even a second I'll know."

"I don't doubt you will."

Bates reached over the table, pulling a pad from his pocket and grabbing a pencil. He flipped to an empty page and started making notes. The task was so consuming he barely noticed when Anna tapped him on the shoulder.

"Love notes?"

"Something like that," Bates slid the pad to her, "I'm detailing what I know about the extent of the operation. I think I found the key players or at least those with the most to gain from all this."

"It's a good list," Anna grabbed the pencil, "But I can eliminate these two. They're too involved in military contracts."

"You're not supposed to know that." Bates smiled, pulling his hand from the water and wiping it on a tea towel. Anna lifted her head from the list, crossing out another name while staring at him.

"There's a great many things I'm not supposed to know, John, but I do because I'm good at my job."

"Thank goodness you are." Bates reached between her knees for the chair and dragged it over the floor toward him. "Or else I'd wonder if there were listening devices in my flat."

"There aren't." Anna whispered as Bates put his hands on the seat of the chair on either side of her legs and leaned toward her. "I checked when I came in."

"Good," Bates moved to her ear, "I wouldn't want them to hear you."

"Am I going to be loud?"

"I believe, Anna," Bates ran his lips down the column of her throat, "I made you a promise in a much dingier flat I want to fulfill now."

"What?" Her voice caught as heat rose in her cheeks. Bates smiled to himself. He had not even really touched her, since his hands gripped the sides of the chair under her, and she was already melting.

"I promised to spend an hour just worshipping your body. The word I used was kissing but it's the same thing to me." He paused, breathing slowly over her neck to see her shiver, "Would you mind me doing that now?"

"I wouldn't mind at all." Anna pulled him toward her, sucking at his lips to kiss her as she thrust her tongue into his mouth. He leaned into the kiss, using his arms as leverage to hold himself over her.

After a minute be broke away, "As much as I adore my kitchen, I think there's a better place for this."

Anna grinned at him and stood, pushing him back. Bates was helpless as she unbuttoned her blouse slowly. "I don't know Mr. Bates, I think it might be the perfect place for this."

"For what?"

"I'm going to show you how I seduce someone." Anna put a hand on his shoulders and pressed him back into his chair with a thump. "Then I want to see how you'll seduce me. Are we in agreement?"

Bates mouth went dry as she draped her blouse and her skirt over the chair, leaving her in brassiere, slip, stockings, and shoes. She pouted at him, dropping her slip and then unlatching her shoes before walking over to him. "Do you agree?"

"What?" Bates tried to tear away from watching her as she sat on her chair, rolling her stockings down her legs before going on her knees in front of him.

"Can I seduce you John?"

"Why would I say no?"

"Good," Anna unlatched his belt and slipped it through the loops before walking behind him. "Because this is a bit of a control exercise."

"What?" Bates felt Anna bring his arms behind him on the chair, wrapping the belt around his wrists and tightening.

"This morning you mentioned that I panicked," Anna came back around, sitting on Bates's thighs, "It's true, I did."

"Are you taking control now, Anna?" Bates whispered and Anna shook her head.

"This is freedom, John." She worked his buttons free, running her nails down his chest to smile at his groan. "This is me showing you what you how much it means to me that you understood."

"No one else did?" Bates struggled to breathe as Anna worked the fastening of his trousers open, sliding them down his legs to his shoes.

"As you said, they were boys. They didn't care for me. Not like you do." Anna set his shoes and socks to the side, trousers topping the pile. "And I want to show you my gratitude."

"Do I get a turn?"

"Later," Anna ran a finger under the edge of his pants. "For the next little while I just want you to enjoy."

Bates head went back as Anna sucked at his pulse. He felt her teeth nipping at his skin in alternating rhythms as she also sucked at his skin. She worked to his collarbone, holding the back of his neck with one hand as the other scratched up his side. He shifted in the chair, trying to move his arms, but Anna brought her lips to his ear.

"The point is to let me do the work, John." She smiled at him as her hand not at his neck, came up to trace over his profile. "You're supposed to be seduced."

"You seduced me the first time I saw you Anna." Bates moved fast enough to catch her lips with his and plunge his tongue into her mouth.

She moaned, holding him to her as he lifted his hips. Anna broke the kiss, gasping a moment before grinding down on his growing arousal. "I don't think you're playing fair John."

"I'm playing as fair as you'll let a man fighting with two hands tied behind his back." Bates grinned at her, "Afraid I'd win?"

"Not in the slightest." Anna slid back on his legs, kissing at his chest, "I just hope you have sturdy chairs."

She landed on the floor, her nails leaving faint red traces of her path down his chest. Bates sucked in, trying to even his breathing, when she slipped her hands under the band of his pants and worked them down his legs. Wearing only his white shirt he was entirely exposed to her and from the way Anna licked her lips Bates knew he was right where she wanted him.

Anna kissed up his legs, paying special attention to the scar on his right leg, before sliding a hand over his arousal. He whimpered slightly and jerked in her grip but she only tightened her hold and ran her thumb over the tip. Bates met her eyes as she spread his legs apart in the chair, working herself between them.

"Are you ready John?" She did not give him time to answer, kissing him with one hand stroking him slowly and her other hand holding his head to hers.

Again, before she could give him a moment to think, Anna ended their kiss and moved her mouth to his head. She slid her tongue along the slit there before taking him fully into her mouth. Bates bucked his hips, his arms straining slightly and felt the belt loosen.

If he thought more clearly he would have used his energy more efficiently, and perhaps saved his belt, but as Anna sucked at him Bates broke free. He surprised her with the motion and she paused in her ministrations. It was long enough for Bates to pull her up by her shoulders and bring her lips to his.

The taste of himself on her drove him almost mad and he heard a tearing sound as his fingers worked at her knickers. In a second they were off and he had both hands at her hips, pulling her down. She aimed him and sunk, going until her heels hit the floor on either side of his chair.

"I think you broke first John." She tried to joke but Bates's fingers dug into her hips, thrusting into her with all his strength.

Anna's breaths shortened, Bates driving himself into her as she clawed at his shoulders. He ran one hand to the back of her brassiere, finding the latch with nibble fingers to move it out of the way. She let it slip from her shoulders and forced his shirt from his arms as he lowered his head to kiss at her breasts.

The groan she let out, as he sucked at first one and then the other, had Bates moving one of his hands to where they came together with the sounds of flesh meeting flesh. She bucked at his touch, insistently seeking for her center as he increased speed. He teethed at her nipples and he ran his other hand to the middle of her back to hold her to him.

Her own hands laced behind his head, holding him to her as she rocked from the heel to the ball of her feet to get the leverage she wanted to counter his rhythm. Bates kissed up to her neck, nipping at her ear lobe when his other hand slid down her back to knead at her ass. "I think you'll break first Anna."

"No," He saw her eyes closed, biting her lip.

"Let go Anna. You can trust me."

"I can't-"

"You can Anna," Bates paused a moment, forcing her eyes open, "Let go."

He pressed down at her center as he worked up into her, kissing her neck and squeezing at her buttocks simultaneously. She cried out, breathing hard as her arms hung limply over his shoulders. Bates only shifted slightly but she sighed as he slid inside her, striking already sensitive nerves.

Anna brought her head forward, grinning at him with dazed and dilated eyes, "I think it's your turn to let go now John."

His fingers massaged her behind and he jerked his hips. With a whimper Anna closed her eyes, biting at her lip. Bates leaned forward, rutting his hips upward again as he took her lower lip in his teeth. She stared at him, not breaking eye contact as he thrust into her at increasing speeds.

Anna used her grip on his shoulders to put her mouth next to his ear, "Do you know what the best part about this is?"

Bates could only shake his head, burying his face in her shoulder as he used both hands to hold her to him.

"That whenever you sit in these chairs or have anyone else sit in these chairs, you'll think about what we did in them. You'll think of me, straddling you here, and you'll come over quite insensible."

"I'm insensible now." He felt the edge and worked a hand between them, stopping her taunts with a sigh of her own. "Join me there."

"Please."

Bates released and Anna followed right behind, sagging into him as he leaned back against the chair. He wrapped his arms around her but they moved like gelatin. She rested on his shoulder, breathing in sync with him as they filled their starved lungs, and kissed the base of his neck.

"This was supposed to be my chance to spoil you." He murmured against her forehead as he kissed there.

"I know." She lifted her head, "But I didn't think I could wait until we reached the bedroom."

"Why not?"

"I wanted you right here." Anna pushed herself upright, "I had to look at you across that table and then answer those questions without telling Admiral Crawley I wanted to strip you naked and take you on the table of his office with him watching as proof of what we've done."

"He wouldn't have approved," Bates smiled at her, "But I wanted you against the wall in front of Friday, just to show her exactly how I wanted to blow off steam right there."

"Well," Anna ran a finger down the line of Bates's cheek, "I guess it's a miracle we held ourselves together."

"It is." Bates looked around the kitchen and caught sight of his belt. "I think I broke my belt."

"That's probably a good thing."

"Is that so?" Bates pouted as Anna slid off him, standing to gather her clothes. He watched her walk around his kitchen, completely at ease as she gathered her things, and held her look when she caught him staring. "Why's it a good thing I broke my belt?"

"Because," Anna bent at the waist to look him in the eye, "If it still worked I'd tie you up with it again."

"Would you?"

"I'd tie you to the bed and then take what I wanted from you." Anna focused on his mouth, tracing his lips with her thumb, "I think you'd like that."

"I might," Bates stole a kiss, "But for now, I want to go back to my original plan."

He scooped her up, carrying her down the hallway toward his bedroom. She squealed, dropping her clothes, and clung to him as he entered the bedroom. Anna bounced slightly when she hit the bed and giggled as John settled himself over her.

"Is this how you worship John?"

"It's how I'll worship you."


	8. Exposure

Anna wasted no time in pulling Bates's head to hers so she could kiss him. She dug her hands into his hair and arched against him. He put one hand at the small of her back, holding her close as his other hand supported his weight above her.

She worked her tongue over his, sucking at him like he was air for her, and only separated from him when she needed actual air to breathe. He took advantage of the space to kiss at her neck, flicking out his tongue intermittently to taste her skin. Anna slid her leg up his, latching around his waist and moving her hips toward him but he continued his slow pace down her neck.

"John," She urged, moving against him, "Please move."

"I made you a promise Anna," His voice was near her ear and since the only light in the room came from the open door, what she could see of his face fell in the shadows. "I'm going to worship you and that's not to be rushed."

She whined but one of his fingers slid over her folds and her whine became a gasp. Anna felt his lips moving down her right arm, turning it slightly so he could coat it in kisses, while his other hand moved lazily at her center. She shifted her hips, trying to force him deeper or faster but he maintained his punishingly patient pace. When she tried to grab his hand he snatched her wrists and brought her hands to his lips.

"Is it because you're not in control Anna?" He whispered and Anna's lungs seized, starving her of air a moment.

"What?"

"Are you trying to take control?"

"I don't know. I just know I need more."

"More what?" His voice was barely a whisper in the darkness but it struck Anna right to the core.

"Just more."

"Then lie still," Bates moved her hands above her head, holding them there while he kissed his way back down to her shoulder from her wrists, "And let me show you how a woman like you deserves to be treated."

Anna lifted her hips slightly as his other hand continued working at her core, using two fingers to trace around the edges of folds and barely slipping inside her. She looked up to see Bates, leaning over her, and Anna nodded. He dipped his head to brush his lips over hers before moving down again.

She tried to regulate her breathing as he traced every scar with his tongue, sliding over her skin, and then worked his way back up her torso. Anna arched her back when he sucked at the tops of her breasts and then moaned when he took one nipple in her mouth, suckling there until her moans became sobs. He only granted her a second of respite until he repeated his actions on her other side, sending her into near hysterics.

With the hand at her wrists snaking down her arms, his other hand barely brushing through her folds, and his lips working a trail around her hips, Anna squirmed on the bed. The heat of her blood pumped through her whole body, settling where his fingers teased her just inside the crevices of her folds, and Anna blinked at a droplet of sweat gliding down from her forehead when Bates kissed the top of her curls.

Even in the shadows of the room she could make out the pinpoints of light reflecting in his eyes and then off his teeth as he grinned at her. Her own head went back in a full-body shriek when he bit her bundle of nerves. He licked over her, soothing the pain of his teeth, and moved lower.

As he spread her open with his fingers, his other hand massaged her breast. She panted, trying to force air into her starving lungs, but the movements of his tongue lapping at her had her whole body vibrating. He licked at her edges, tracing around her, and then dived in again.

His hand slipped from her breasts to her back, lifting her off the bed to better taste her. Anna heaved in gulping breaths past her own moans. Bates continued, focused on sending her voice into higher and higher registers as he drank from her.

When it all grew too much Anna broke, screaming his name loud enough for the whole block to hear her, and her vision went white. Her chest rose and fell faster than a horse after a race and for a moment it was all Anna could use to bring her attention back to the present. But just as soon as she gathered her breath she felt something else.

She lifted herself up on her elbows to see Bates working his fingers inside her. He kissed over her hips again, his other hand still holding at her ass, and continued to work his fingers. When their eyes met he only smiled at her.

"Trust me."

Anna grabbed his cheeks, forcing his lips on hers. She rolled her hips into his hands, settling his fingers deeper inside her and slipping his hand over her ass. As she sucked at him, trying to take her taste from his lips, and his fingers curled inside her.

She gasped into the kiss and he ran his tongue around the inside her mouth, shifting his head to side to get a better grip. Anna moved a hand to the back of his neck and another to where his fingers worked her to a frenetic frenzy. She latched her fingers around his wrist and forced him deeper.

Bates tore away from her, kissing and sucking a trail down her neck as he sent her over the edge again. At the edges of her conscious mind she felt him move against her, throbbing and hot over her skin. It was all she could do to not reach out for him but her arms had no strength.

In the few moments of delirious ecstasy, Anna felt Bates flip her onto her stomach. He ran his lips over her shoulders and back before moving her legs far enough apart so he could position himself behind her. Bates kissed back to her neck, moving his lips to her ear as she felt him slide over her back and ass.

"Will you let me have control Anna?" She could only nod and thrust her hips back toward him. He growled in her ear, taking a hip in a bruising grip, "Trust me."

"I do."

"Good." He bit down on her shoulder as he plunged into her.

She cried out, moaning in the blankets of his bed. He set a determined stride, propelling himself as deeply as he could, and she learned his rhythm enough to counter him. Anna moved onto her arms and knees, twisting herself in his grip as his hands ran all over her body, and she forced her hips toward him as he plunged deeper and deeper inside her.

In a moment he lifted her, bringing her back to his chest as one hand cupped then kneaded her breast and the other slipped to where they joined. He flicked at her bundle of nerves and she threw her head back onto his shoulder to draw in more air. Bates kissed the column of her throat and stroked her center before bringing his finger to his mouth. She watched as he sucked it dry and broke in his arms.

He tipped her forward, never losing his hold, and drove into her. The waves of pleasure washed over Anna and she crested over the peak again. In the haze she heard him finish and call out her name to the darkness of the room. His form draped over her as he held himself up on shaking arms, but only just.

Anna shifted them slightly, not wanting to break their connection, and landed sideways on the bed. She pulled his arms around her, their hearts beating fast enough to break out of their chests, and tried to pull deep breaths to the depths of her lungs. Bates moved behind her, slipping free to hold her more comfortably, and sighed in her ear.

"You're a singular individual Anna."

She rotated in his arms, their skin slipping with sweat, and ran a hand up to his hair, "I believe you deserve those compliments tonight John."

"Why's that?" He grasped her hand from his hair, pulling it to his mouth to kiss it. She giggled and kissed him quickly.

"For what you did."

"And what did I do?"

"Now you're just fishing for compliments."

"You started it." He grinned at her, moving his hand at her back down low enough to pinch her ass.

Anna squealed and batted his hand away. "You're paying me a compliment when you're the one who brought me more pleasure then I've ever had before." She ran a hand over his cheek, "No one's been that concerned about my needs or taken the kind of time you did. It means a lot to me that you're so invested."

"I'd like to be more invested." Bates met her gaze, the weight of the moment bringing just as many shivers as the chill in the room. "I hope you don't mistake my physical affections as the extent of my interest in you Anna."

"No one who just wants sex would take such good care of me." She kissed his cheek, pulling back to grin at him, "Four times is my new record I think."

"I can try and beat it." He dipped his head to lick at her neck and Anna groaned, pulling him to her again.

"But not right now," Anna escaped him a moment, pulling the covers back enough to wiggle under them. Bates joined her, wrapping himself around her from behind. They stayed like that, in the silence, for a few moments as their hearts and breathing synced.

"Anna?" He whispered and she held his hand at her stomach, dragging it up to hold it across her body. "If I told you I have deep feelings for you what would you say?"

"That I feel the same." She kissed his knuckles, "I can't say I love you but I know I could one day."

"Me too." He kissed at her hair, settling behind her, "Me too."

"John?" The vibration of his nonverbal response moved through her body and she smiled, even though he could not see it. "I've never enjoyed anything more."

"Good," He lowered his lips to the tender flesh of her shoulder, "Because I marked you and I don't think you'll easily explain that away."

"If anyone but you sees it then we have other problems." Anna took a deep breath, "Goodnight John."

"Goodnight Anna."

* * *

Anna sat in the passenger seat of the car as Branson tapped the wheel. She checked her watch again before sighing. A snort to her right drew her attention and she glared at Branson. "Something you feel you need to say, Mr. Thursday?"

"You're an impatient lot aren't you?"

"Most of my work involves me actually doing something, not waiting around for someone else to do something."

"Then maybe you should drive the Admiral around for a few days to understand how I feel. Thomas'll do fine in there."

"You think so?"

"Sure. He's young but he's… wait," Branson leaned forward and Anna craned to see what he saw. "I spoke too soon."

"How so?"

Branson pointed just off the front of the car, "We've got a runner."

Anna opened the door, slipping out of her heels, and grabbed the edge of her skirt. With a yank she separated the seams enough to let her legs free and dashed after the man in an expensive suit running for all he was worth past the car. Anna gritted her teeth against the cold of the cobbles and brought her arms up in a form perfected running through the fields around her parents' home.

The man, in his thin-soled shoes, slipped on the wet stones while rounding a corner and Anna slammed into him. Though she was slight of build he bent in half when he slideand her force of impact knocked him onto his side. He hit the stones hard, the air leaving him in a rush that left him gasping on the ground.

Anna regained her balance, hoping on her toes to stop them freezing on the fall-chilled ground. The man got to his feet, moving a bit like a baby deer trying to walk on ice, as he waved his hands for balance. He noticed Anna and lunged at her but she dodged him, bringing her elbow down between his shoulder blades.

He hit the pavement again as Branson brought the car around. Anna lifted the dazed man's arm and Branson came out of the car to grab the man's other arm and haul him into the backseat. Another set of hands grabbed his legs and thrust the man forward before climbing into the backseat to join him.

Anna slid over the bonnet to take back her position in the passenger seat as Branson slammed the driver's door. The wheels smoked on the street a moment before they peeled away, fish tailing until Branson could take the corner. Anna put her hand to the roof of the car to hold herself in place as the force of the turn almost had her tumbling into Branson's side.

When they rejoined traffic Anna worked the belt over her waist and turned in her seat to see Thomas holding the other man down by sitting on his back. She smiled at him but then her face fell. Thomas narrowed his eyes at her before turning to look out the rear window.

"Thursday, step on it." Anna ordered, digging in the glove box before drawing out a pistol. She loaded it, cocking it to the ready, and handed it back to Thomas as he passed a Tommy gun toward her. Anna flipped the catch, readied the gun, and put her hand on her door.

Branson weaved between the cars on the road, honking and yelling at them for reckless driving, but the one following them kept close. Anna unbuckled the belt at her waist, working her arm in the belt on the side before opening her door. Branson moved their car toward the edge of the road as Anna positioned herself with the door as her shield and rested the gun on the window of the door.

The car behind them opened fire, sending bullets ricocheting off the boot and smashing the back window. Anna risked a look at Thomas, who waved her off, and she took aim at the car following them. She opened fire, holding the rattling gun steady, and the black vehicle swerved. Anna continued the barrage, ducking down as their aim moved to her, but tilted her gun down just enough to shatter their windshield.

In their moment of surprise Thomas fired his pistol. The driver convulsed and fell back, the wheel twisting out of the other man's control, and the car hit the barricade before falling into the freezing river. Anna pulled her gun up, grabbing the door handle to close it as Branson drove away from the scene as quickly as he could.

They entered a nearly abandoned carpark and Anna hurried with her gun to another car. She broke the window before ducking under the console to expose the wires. Branson and Thomas worked together to move their struggling hostage to the boot of the new car. They tossed him inside, slamming the lid, before Branson removed any of their necessary equipment from the boot of their previous car and Thomas ripped off a piece of his shirt.

Anna started the engine and beckoned them inside as Branson climbed into the backseat with their things. Thomas lit the corner of his shirt, now stuffed into a bottle of liquid, and threw it through the shattered back window of their car. In a second the whole thing exploded and Anna drove them out of the carpark, leaving the flaming car in their wake.

They drove to a building near the docks and Anna parked the car. She left the engine running and opened the cellar doors nearest their car. Anna ushered Branson and Thomas inside as they hauled the man between them, a sock stuffed in his mouth. Anna unloaded the backseat, checked to make sure no one was watching, and place a brick on the gas pedal. With a lift the car slid out of park and Anna jumped away to watch the car run itself right off the road and into the canal. Bubbles accompanied a gurgling sound as the car disappeared and Anna vanished into the cellar of the house, pulling the large doors shut behind her.

Branson and Thomas finished tying the man to a chair as Anna joined them. She looked at Branson, "We need a new mode of transportation."

He nodded and vanished as Thomas looked at Anna. "What you want to do with him?"

The man, with the sock still firmly between his teeth, struggled and spit. Anna crossed her arms over her chest and walked toward him. She cocked her head to the side, "I think the pliers first."

The man squeaked against the gag as Thomas walked to one of the bags from the boot. He opened it, withdrawing two sets of pliers, "Large or small?"

Anna shrugged, "Start small and work large?"

The man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slumped in the chair. Anna smiled to herself and nodded at Thomas, "Good work."

"Thank you." He replaced the pliers, "I don't think Thursday'd want us to waste his pliers on this man."

"I don't know. They pulled off tires. They could pull off his ears." Anna sniggered, "Look at them, they're huge."

Thomas joined her in a laugh but then refocused, "Now what?"

"We just need the last details from him. We offer him a deal and if he goes for it we leave him here and call some local bobbies to free him. He doesn't then we leave him here and call no one." Anna walked to a dingy sink and filled a speckled glass with brownish water, "He'll go for the first option."

"What makes you so sure?"

"His suit," Anna pointed to it, "A man who can afford that isn't going to like the idea of spending any time down here."

Anna pulled the sock from between the man's teeth before pouring water over his head. He spluttered and jerked in the chair. When some of the water got in his mouth he spit and gagged. Anna stepped back to avoid the sputum and then smiled at him as his wide-eyed gaze took in his surroundings again.

"Mr. Bricker, the way I see it you had three options here." She put her hands on her knees to get her eyes at his level. "Since you shunned Mr. Collier's very generous offer earlier that puts us in a little bit of a pickle because now we can't give you that deal. So, now you only have two options."

"Which are?"

"Either you tell us the final members of your little cabal or we leave you here in these first rate accomodations."

"To die?"

"Well," Anna shrugged, "We could get you closer to that sink so you could drink but I don't think you want to."

She nodded at Thomas to turn on the water. Anna watched Bricker shudder as the faucet spit and spewed brownish sludge all the while the pipes clanked and groaned. "Not appetizing or pleasant but you won't die quickly."

"And if I tell you?"

"Then we inform some lovely local bobbies that you're here." Anna smiled at him, "We're reasonable people. Now we already know about Lord Crowborough and some of his friends. What we need you to confirm is how many others are involved."

"They'll kill me," Bricker whimpered and Anna rolled her eyes.

"No," She held out her hand and Thomas handed her the pistol. She cocked it and put it to his head, "I'll kill you."

"But then it's a choice of dying here or dying later."

"We're all dying Bricker," Anna lowered her voice, "All you decide is whether or not you die painlessly or in agony."

"I don't want to die."

Bricker sobbed and Anna smelled something. She sniffed and turned to Thomas. He sniffed to but shrugged. Anna then realized what the smell was and looked down, sighing, "It's not necessary to soil yourself Mr. Bricker, I promise no harm to you if you cooperate with us."

He nodded emphatically and Anna removed the pistol, handing it back to Thomas. "Wonderful, now, give us the names."

* * *

Anna smiled as Admiral Crawley put the phone back in the cradle and turned to the gathering in his office. "They got them all."

Anna squealed as Branson lifted her off the ground. He spun her around a moment before clapping Thomas on the back and then shaking hands with Bates. He returned the gesture but his eyes were on Anna. She winked at him but refocused on Admiral Crawley as he called them back to attention.

"In recognition for his assistance tonight Thomas is now an agent of this division." Admiral Crawley shook Thomas's hand, "Welcome Mr. January."

The congratulations went around to Thomas as Anna sidled up to Bates. She cocked her head at Thomas, "If you'd chosen a month he'd be February."

"Eh," Bates shrugged, "He's the next generation. Let him start something new."

"And what about us Mr. Bernhard?" Anna slipped her fingers between his to squeeze a moment before releasing. "Are we going to start something new?"

"Maybe." He bent down to whisper in her ear, "Is it too corny to ask if you'll be my girlfriend?"

"No," Anna shook her head, beaming, "I rather like that idea."


	9. Implosion

Bates rubbed at his eyes and tried to read the file again.

"Maybe if you weren't up so late with Monday every night you wouldn't be so tired when you come to work."

Bates glared across the short space at Mary, typing at top speed on her typewriter. "Maybe if you minded your own business, Friday, I might not mention that I know Tuesday ruffled your hair."

Mary reddened and scowled back, pulling a mirror from the desk drawer to set her hair right. She replaced it, sitting straighter, "A woman can have her needs met occasionally, Mr. Bernhard. You and Monday know that from experience."

"Yes but Monday and I are both fully invested. You're stringing Tuesday along."

"What I do with Tuesday is none of your business."

"Then stop trying to give me advice about Monday." Bates raised the file to block Mary from view.

"You know," Bates lowered the folder as Mary came around her desk to sit in the chair in front of his, "I have nothing against you pursuing my friend in any romantic sense, Mr. Bernhard."

"Thank you for your approval Friday but I didn't need it."

"No, you don't, but I think you need to be a little less enthralled with one another." Mary pointed to the door, "The Admiral frowns on that sort of thing."

"He already spoke to us." Bates flipped the page in his file, "You should know, you were listening in."

"I heard you tell him it wasn't romantic." Mary shook her head, "We both know that's a lie."

"Do we now?"

"Monday never gives over control and she ceded it to you like it was nothing."

"And?"

"That's romance for her, Mr. Bernhard."

"Then what is the problem?"

"If the Admiral knows you could have a romantic entanglement he'll force one or both of you to resign. Probably her."

"Why and why?"

"To the first because the risk that you'll be distracted, putting her above the mission, is high. Second because he needs you for your connection to your wife and he doesn't need Monday for that."

"Monday's his best agent."

"Monday's not the ex-husband of a known German spy." Mary stood up, "Just think about what matters to you and to Monday. This is not the time for games."

"Then you should tell Tuesday that." Bates stood up, shutting the file on his desk, "I'll see you tomorrow Friday."

Entering the lift Bates waited for the grate to close before slamming his fist into the wall. He punched the wall again, watching the paint flake and the wall buckle slightly under the force of his blow. Stepping back, breathing hard, he slumped against the wall.

One the lift reached the garage Bates held his throbbing hand, keeping the handkerchief in place over his bleeding knuckles. He was so occupied by this he almost ran into Branson, pulling himself out from under the nearest car. Bates tripped slightly and caught himself on the side of the car.

"Sorry I didn't see you." Branson stood up quickly, putting a hand out toward Bates but the other man waved him off. "You alright there Mr. Bernhard?"

"I'm fine."

"Your hand's bleeding."

"It's nothing." Bates kept his hand close to his chest, walking out the garage doors, "It's nothing."

The train back to his flat lulled Bates to a thoughtless state. Buildings and houses whizzing by him numbed all thought and he lost himself in those sights. Even walking to his flat left him undisturbed in the drizzling rain. His mind kept coming back to one fact: if he stayed with Anna, she would lose all that mattered to her and he would not be the one to do that to her.

He resolved to break it off over the phone, calling her the minute he reached his flat. What he did not expect was to open his door and see Anna at his kitchen table, studying something in a larger book while making notes on the pad beside her. She smiled up at him as he entered and immediately returned to her reading. He stumbled toward her, only conscious enough to shut the front door, before approaching her.

"What are you doing here?" He worked his jacket off, pulling at his tie before wincing at the pain it sent up his hand to move his fingers like that. He was not ready to tell her to her face. This would destroy her… and him if he saw her cry.

"I wanted to check a few things." She turned the page, "Your German books are better than the ones headquarters gave me."

"Why are you learning German?"

"Something over the wire got me thinking about it." Anna turned in her chair, putting her hands on the backrest, "How are you?"

"I'm fine." He moved to the sink, turning on the water while pulling a pot from one of the shelves. Just a moment of distraction, to build up his resolve, and he could say it to her. A noise behind had Bates turning to see Anna walking toward him, grabbing his hand before he could move away.

"This is fine?"

"It will be." He filled the pot and turned on the stove, setting it to boil. "I just need to ice it."

"How'd you get that John?" She crossed her arms but Bates ignored her.

"I said, it's nothing."

"Don't lie to me."

"Maybe we should stop lying to ourselves then." Bates rounded on her, "Maybe we need to come clean."

"About what?"

"About the fact that if the Admiral finds out we're in a relationship he'll sack you without another thought."

"I'm sure he'd think about it." Anna tried to shrug but Bates shook his head.

"I'm not joking Anna."

"Neither am I." She put her hands on her hips, "Admiral Crawley won't sack me. Not after all the work I've done for him and for headquarters."

"If he thinks it'll interfere with our work he won't hesitate to put the mission first. Maybe we should think like that before we risk the mission by what we're doing."

"Has it?"

'Has it what?"

"Has it risked the mission yet?"

"The better question is 'will it'?"

"Then answer the question," Anna held her hands up, "Will it be a problem John? Will us being in a relationship be a problem?"

"Our opinions don't matter."

"Yes they do, John." Anna walked to his icebox, pulling out a chunk of ice and wrapping it in a cloth to hold over his hand. He tried to pull away but she jerked his hand back. "Our opinions always matter."

"We need to think about what we're doing."

"I am. I want this."

Bates finally broke, his voice straggling slightly, "I can't be the reason you lose your job Anna."

"Who says I'm losing my job?" She stared at him before frowning, "Did you talk to Friday?"

"She warned me off what we're doing."

"Friday's just scared we'll lose one another the way she lost Matthew." Anna pulled the ice up, pressing on Bates's skin. He hissed and she shrugged, "Serves you right for punching an inanimate object."

"How'd you know it's inanimate?"

"There are paint flecks on your skin. They match the paint in the lift. I can tell you that Mr. Carson won't thank you for that repair." She replaced the ice and nodded at the pot, "What are you making?"

"Hot water."

"For what?"

"I-" Bates shrugged, "I hadn't thought that far ahead."

"How far ahead did you think?"

"To ringing you and saying we needed to end it."

"Were you really that concerned?"

"This means the world to you Anna, I wouldn't take that from you." Bates used his good hand to cover hers. "I'd rather die than take away your dream."

"Then isn't it a good thing, John, that my dreams changed?" Turning off the stove she pulled him to a seat.

Bates sat as she dug in her bag and removed the ointment. Slathering it over his hand she worked it into the skin. When she finished she wrapped it in a cloth for a moment before taking her own seat. They stared at one another a minute before Bates chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"The last time we were in this position you took liberties with me."

"I don't remember you complaining." Anna smirked at him, "Are you complaining?"

"I don't think I could ever complain about that."

"Good." She unwrapped his hand, "It'll bruise but you'll be alright."

"Are we alright?" Anna did not look at him, gathering the cloth and almost melted ice from the table and taking them to the sink. Bates turned in his chair, "Anna?"

He watched her hands go to the counter, leaning her over the sink, with her shoulders rising and falling. "I don't want you to leave me John."

"Anna?"

She turned to face him, tears just working over her cheeks. She rubbed them away with the back of her hand, "I can endure a lot. I've endured a lot. But I can't bear the thought of you leaving me."

"Even if it was so you could go and dream of a better man?"

"I can't," She shook her head, "Because there isn't one."

Bates stood up from his chair, walking to her. His hand on her shoulder was met with one of her own as she stroked over it. Turning to smile at him Anna kissed his hand. He put his other hand on her cheek, "Are we fine?"

"We're fine, John."

"Anna, I don't want to leave you either but," He hung his head, "I don't want to stand between you and your dreams either. Like I said-"

"I remember saying I have different dreams now-"

"I wasn't finished." Bates put up his other hand and Anna nodded. "I'm going to the Admiral tomorrow and I'm resigning."

"Why?"

"Because if he'd get rid of you then I need to make sure he can't do that."

"I don't need you to step in for me."

"That's not the plan," He grinned at her, "If I resign then he'll do whatever he can to get me back."

Anna broke into a smile, "You'd manipulate the Admiral to allow our relationship?"

"I'd do more than that but, for right now, that's all we'll need." Bates cringed, "I hope it's enough because I don't have any other ideas."

"I think it's good enough." Anna turned fully to face him. "But I think I should tell you something."

"What?"

"Well," She took his hand from her shoulder and unbuttoned the cuff, "I was over here learning German because the phrase we caught on the wire today translates to 'I love you' and I was thinking about learning it for you."

"What?"

"I told you my dreams changed." Anna stopped, her eyes widening slightly, "Is it too soon to tell you that you're my dream?"

Bates lifted Anna off her feet and kissed her. She returned the gesture, wrapping her legs around his waist and he moved them to the table. He set her down on the surface and she worked at the buttons of his shirt. Without giving her too much of a chance to fight them apart, Bates tore his shirt and sent buttons flying all over the kitchen.

Sliding her fingers into the hair at the back of his neck with one hand and the hair on his chest with the other, Anna pulled his mouth back to hers. He struggled a moment, working his now ruined shirt off his shoulders, and tossed it on the floor. The table under Anna thumped into the wall when he grabbed her back, pulling her toward him, but Bates no longer cared.

He broke the kiss, holding his hand to the back of her neck, "Ich liebe dich."

"What?" Anna gasped back as Bates attacked her throat, kissing his way to her collar before he wrenched the sleeve of her shirt down to reach her shoulder.

"Ich liebe dich," Bates paused, raising his head to see her face, "That's 'I love you' in German."

Anna tugged him forward by his trousers, working his belt free and throwing it behind her as he raised her skirt. Shifting her hips, Anna moaned as his fingers molded into the skin of her waist. Within seconds his fingers worked her knickers and stockings down, caressing back up to stroke over her center.

"Can you-" Anna bit back the rest of what she was about to say when his fingers entered her, stretching as far as she could go. "Say it again?"

"In German?" Bates sucked where her neck and shoulder met, holding her firmly to him with one hand at her waist and working the other inside her.

"In English please." One of Anna's arms latched around his shoulders, digging her fingers into the back of his head while her other hand fumbled to unfasten his trousers.

Bates risked losing his hold on her and unbuttoned his trousers enough for her to work her hand into his underwear. They sighed in unison as her hand wrapped around his erection and he jerked his hips in her direction. Gathering his breath Bates curled his fingers inside her, scraping down just as their eyes met.

"I," He worked a third finger inside her, using his thumb to caress the bundle of nerves just under her hood, "Love," Her hand gripped him harder and he grunted a moment before finding his breath, "You."

Anna's head went back as he found the right spot. Her soprano cry almost had him losing control but he gritted his teeth, determined to keep steady until her body stopped shaking. When she finally looked at him, her legs wrapped around his waist and she guided him where his fingers were only just slipping out.

Bates almost lost himself when she slid him home, pulling his fingers to her lips and sucking as her inner muscles contracted around him. His eyes rolled back into his head and he rutted into her without a second thought. Sharp pain at his back opened his eyes and he realized Anna dug her heels, still in shoes, into his back as her fingers scratched down his sides.

"John," Her voice caught, panting for air as he worked into her, "Ich liebe dich."

His fingers came around to bring her over the edge with him as he kissed her again. She cried out and stabbed into his side with her nails but he was too far gone to care. A moment later he finished, still holding her to him as his other hand gripped the table. They both shook a moment, coming down from their highs and Anna giggled.

"What?"

"I don't think we can ever eat in your kitchen again John."

* * *

Bates waited. Admiral Crawley's face ran the gambit of emotions and then colors before he finally spluttered out something to say.

"You're resigning?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Friday indicated that you would not approve of an interoffice relationship that could possibly threaten the operations of this office and since I already helped you infiltrate the division you needed to take down I don't see a reason to stay. I've got a command waiting for me and since I wish to pursue a romantic relationship with Ms. Monday, outside this office, I need to put those priorities in order. Therefore I handed you my resignation."

"But I need you Bates."

"I'm sorry sir but I've got to follow my conscience." Bates held his hands behind his back, scanning the room a moment to guess where Mary hid the microphones she used to record them. He also hoped she enjoyed what she was hearing.

"I-" Admiral Crawley shook his head violently enough to risk breaking it from his neck as he stood, "I don't accept your resignation."

"It is already there sir." Bates pointed to it but Admiral Crawley tore it to pieces like a rabid dog.

"If keeping a relationship with Ms. Monday won't interfere with your work then have the damn thing. What difference would it make?"

"None at all for us sir."

"Good." Admiral Crawley evened his breathing, "That was a close call Bates."

"I'm sorry sir but I had to be sure."

Admiral Crawley leveled a finger at Bates, "I know what you did. You played to my need for you and Monday in this office."

"I'm getting the hang of the manipulation required in intelligence work, sir." Bates tried to keep his smirk to himself but Admiral Crawley caught it.

"For that I feel far less bad giving you this order," The envelope crossed over the desk and Bates picked it up, using the decorative letter opener designed like a Nepali kukri to split the seal. "They want you and Ms. Monday in France."

"For?"

"They think they found the man your wife reported to here in London when she was still active in their network." Admiral Crawley took his seat again, "Problem is we need to draw him out without spooking the Jerries."

"So you need-" Bates stopped himself as he read the words. He shook his head, slowly at first and then building up speed, "This is a mistake sir."

"It's already set in writing and Friday's holding the tickets for your train out there." Admiral Crawly pointed to the door, "Think what you like but she's the only one who can pull this off."

"You can't put her in this situation sir."

"It's done, Bates." Admiral Crawley stood, "This afternoon you and Ms. Monday go to Lancaster to give the news to the former Mrs. Bates."

"I can't see that woman, sir."

"You'll have to because the way we've arranged it only you can. She's not allowed any visitors, she doesn't see any of the other inmates, and the guards that work with her are deaf mutes."

"You made up that last part sir."

"I did," Admiral Crawley shrugged, "Point is, you and Ms. Monday need to get her on board with this plan."

"And you're willing to do what if she agrees?"

"It's in this letter," Admiral Crawley handed over another envelope, "For her eyes only, Bates. The War Office doesn't want anything getting out until we've got the confirmation we need. If she agrees and signs then all promises made therein are binding and valid."

"You can't trust that woman."

"I don't." Admiral Crawley pulled at the edges of his coat, "But I trust her survival instinct is strong and she's not so foolish as to give up an opportunity like this."

"I still think it's a mistake."

"And your arguments are noted but the fact remains, this is what the men upstairs want and this is what we give them." Admiral Crawley opened his hand toward the door, "To your orders Commander."

Bates saluted and left the office. He did not look at Mary, merely holding out her hand with the tickets in it, and snatched the envelope.

"Could be worse you know," Mary rolled another paper into her typewriter, "You could have to actually be married to her again."

"That would be simple," Bates stuffed the tickets into his jacket pocket, "I'd hang myself."

"What are a few words between unhappily divorced couples?"

"Poison. I'd rather drink the Thames."

"That toxic?" Bates turned to see Anna, holding two cases. She held one out to Bates, "We might be there a few days."

"You knew?"

"I received orders this morning." She pulled his lapel tighter in his naval jacket. "I thought I should leave you to your task."

"And not warn me?"

"It'd take the fire out of your impassioned speech about loving Monday more than your job." Mary commented, hitting the end of the line and waiting for the typewriter to reset. Bates glared at her and she shrugged, "I thought it was rather beautiful. All that about priorities and having a command… very romantic."

"It's all true."

"Even better." Mary typed another line, not looking at them as she referenced her notes to the side and her fingers moved faster than Bates could believe with accuracy he only ever mastered in firearms. "I've had speeches like that from people who didn't mean it and I believe them. I like this one better."

"Are we going to always get your opinions on our love life Friday?" Anna stole a mint from Mary's desk, popping it into her mouth.

"As long as you continue to flirt in my vicinity, yes." She smiled up at them and pushed the typewriter back into place, "Hurry or you'll miss your train."

Thanks to Branson's driving they just made their train. The second-class carriage was mostly empty, since it was the early afternoon, and Bates was grateful none of the people in the carriage were in uniform. All the salutes and salutations of "sir" or "commander" drove him mad as they tripped over themselves at the platform.

He sighed, sinking into the seat and closed his eyes. They cracked open again when he heard Anna laughing at him. "What?"

"You." She settled into the seat opposite him, "You wear your uniform and yet you always seem surprised when people see you in it."

"It's not why I wear the uniform." Bates adjusted in the seat, "They're just clothes to me."

"But they're not just clothes to them." Anna pointed to the people whizzing past them as the train picked up speed out of the station. "It means something to see someone wearing a representation of sacrifice."

"You mean to see someone in uniform when so many of them probably know someone hanging gold stars in their windows?"

"That's only in America Mr. Bernhard."

"I wish we did it here."

"We've got the poppies."

"Yes," Bates shook his head, bending down to grab their cases from the floor, "I saw too many of those the first time around."

"What's different?"

"What?" Bates turned to Anna, hands on his case to lift it to the rack above their heads.

"What's different about this time from last time you fought?"

"Honestly?" Bates settled their cases and took his seat again, "This time it's bigger. We're blowing one another to hell all over the place."

"And you weren't last time."

"You don't remember?"

"I was a child, Mr. Bernhard," Anna stared out the window, "I only remember rationing and how my mother worked in service to a family that lost both of their sons. They had a time trying to find the heir to their estate after that and a whole generation of men was just gone."

"Nothing else?"

"I remember the Armistice." Anna crossed her legs, "I remember gathering with everyone at the center of the village as the chimes of our church tower rung out in time with the remembrance. All the adults were crying and some of the children were. But what I remember most was looking around and feeling like more people should be there but wouldn't be there ever again."

"Seems incredibly in tune for a child."

"I was always observant and precocious." Anna winked at him, "It's why I joined Naval Intelligence when Friday asked me to."

"To use your skills?"

"I was wasting away in my village."

"You mentioned that milquetoast boy you left there." Bates grinned at her and Anna raised an eyebrow. "Would you rather I call him vanilla?"

"Some people are built for the places they grow up and some aren't. I wasn't."

"I wasn't either."

"Really?"

"My mother moved to London after my father died. Can you imagine how difficult it was for a single mother with an accent as thick as hers, worshipping as she did, to raise a son in London?"

"No," Anna shook her head, "But I'm glad she did."

"Why, especially?" Bates leaned forward and Anna shrugged, struggling to look aloof. "Why are you glad Ms. Monday?"

"If you'd grown up in Ireland you might never have joined the Navy. Since I don't see myself having traveled there to the sheep farm or the factory where you worked I don't see us ever having met."

"No," Bates blew out, "I think I'd have married a village girl and have five or six children by now."

"Would that make you happy?"

"What? The children?"

"No," Anna denied but he saw something at the corner of her eyes, "Living on a farm with a village girl."

Bates leaned his head back, thinking, "I've never thought about it."

"Never? In all the time you traveled the globe on board those ships you never once thought about what it might mean if you'd grown up in Ireland and lived another life?"

"No." Bates clapped his hands together, "When I was old enough I thought about University but I realized as much as I loved reading I didn't like education so I actually believed a recruiter."

"You were fodder weren't you?"

"That was the intention but I was lucky." Bates tapped his head, "I was bright, quick, and above the average urchin they scraped off the street. My commanding officer saw it and recommended me, above all opposition, to a commission he financed."

"Why?"

"He said I reminded him of his son, who he lost in the Boer Wars." Bates shrugged, "I owe my life and livelihood to that man."

"And so do I." Anna reached over and put a hand on Bates's. He pulled it to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

They sat in silence awhile before Anna spoke again, "Do you think it's better this time?"

"No," Bates chewed the inside of his cheek, "It's worse."

"Because it's bigger, like you said?"

"Because we've gotten worse." Bates met her eyes, "You've heard the rumors from Poland about the camps?"

Anna nodded, "I didn't believe them at first but a contact I met in Paris gave me photographs."

"That's how you got your garrote scar?"

"Yes." Anna ran a hand over the scar just edging on her neck, "They killed my contact and I barely escaped with my life and the photos. It was almost as bad as the moment the boys at Bletchley saw a version of that machine they're trying to break."

"Science and innovation used for its most dastardly purposes."

"I think it just gives people the chance to be better heroes."

"If only we didn't need them."

"We always need them, Mr. Bernhard," Anna laid back on her seat, closing her eyes, "We just don't always recognize that we do."

"Called forth for such a time as this?"

"I didn't think you read the Bible, Mr. Bernhard."

"I did once," He pouted, "I liked the Book of Esther. A woman taking the power to save her people… it reminded me of someone."

Anna only blushed and smiled.


	10. Compromise

Anna shuddered at the sound of the metal door sliding back, the chorus of jeers and cries from the inmates raining down on them as she and Bates walked the hallway to the interrogation room. Someone from a cell spit at them and Bates dodged it. The hecklers continued, shouting their profanities and curses at the guards guiding them and the uniform Bates wore. One of the women even lifted her shirt to flash them before a guard went over to subdue her. Anna repressed a grimace and kept her focus on the door ahead.

The room smelled of mold as the flickering bulb whined above them. Anna glanced up at it before frowning at the cracked table with mismatched chairs provided for them. Bates turned to her and Anna shrugged before taking a seat. Bates paced the room, hands clasped tight behind his back. Anna watched his gait as he moved around like a cage animal taking stock of its new habitat. His fingers interlocked, separated, twiddled, and clenched as he measured the length of their temporary room with his echoing footsteps.

Almost a prison inside a prison, Anna thought.

She went to say something when the door creaked open. Anna turned her head toward the door, catching sight of Bates doing the same from the corner of her eye, and two guards entered with a woman between the. She wore a hood that looked like burlap but somehow still matched the gray dress with her prison number emblazoned on the left side of her chest. The guards forced her into the chair across from Anna but kept the hood on as they unlocked her cuffs from the chains keeping her wrists in line with her ankles.

The metal on metal screech as the line of the cuffs fed through the loop on the table set Anna's teeth on edge. The guards took no care about buffeting the woman, one even giving her an extra blow across the shoulder when she moved. Both guards stood and looked at Bates- still in the corner of the room- and Anna before scoffing. They removed the hood and left the room, pulling the door shut with a reverberating crash followed by the locking mechanism that had Anna's heart beating a little faster.

Then she finally looked at Vera Bates.

If an iceberg had a face, a name, and a personality it could never be as cold as Vera Bates. Though they had similar eye color, Anna felt a chill run up her spine just staring at the woman. More than that, Anna could see the intelligence there. Even with the months of solitary confinement here the woman lost no edge. She was sharp in her quick evaluation of the room and her two visitors, unexpected though they were.

She eyed Anna, narrowing her icy orbs slightly before raising her eyebrows. "I assume you've got something to say."

"We do." Bates cut in, finally taking his seat next to Anna but moving no closer. "We're here to talk about your work as a spy."

"Are you now?" Vera immediately studied the two of them and her lip curled upward, "Didn't take you long to replace me did it Johnny?"

"Excuse me?" The muscle in Bates's jaw twitched slightly and Anna wanted to put a hand on his shoulder but she stopped herself. This woman needed no ammunition Anna maintained their distance, telling herself it was for the best. "Are you really going to try and accuse me of moving on when you didn't even wait for my side of the bed to get cold before you took someone there?"

"Please, I never took anyone to our bed." Vera sneered, "Why would I bring them back to our shite bed in that shabby little flat we kept on your pitiful salary? Why sleep in that when I could have luxury elsewhere?"

"You-"

"I think we're getting a little distracted." Anna cut in, shooting a look at Bates. He huffed and sat back in the chair, running his palms over his thighs as if the repetitive motions could ease his breathing. "We're here to offer you a deal, Mrs. Bates."

"Former Mrs. Bates." Vera ran her tongue over her upper teeth, "Johnny here couldn't wait to get his name off me when they threw me in here and tossed away the key."

"What if I told you we're willing to offer you the key?" Anna waited, keeping her face blank as Vera chuckled.

"You think I'd believe a little tart like you could offer me anything?"

"That depends on what you think a tart like me does for a day job." Anna reached into her bag and withdrew the sealed envelope, passing it over the table.

Vera reached for it but her bindings restricted her movements. She laughed a little, "It seems I'll be needing your help to open something. Just know, I'm not talking about opening your legs."

Anna took the envelope back, tearing the top and removing the paper inside. Sliding it over the table she stopped when she was sure Vera could read it and sat back. The way Vera's breathing hitched a moment put Anna on alert and when Vera cackled Anna restrained herself from putting a hand on Bates to stop him seething at his ex-wife.

"The King wants me to work for him and in exchange he'll grant me clemency?" Vera practically shook with the force of her guffaws, "Like I'd help that bugger with his war. Let King George and all his little men die horribly and may they roast in hell."

"Then I guess we've nothing more to discuss." Anna took the paper back, tucking it in the envelope and stood, "You enjoy the remainder of your stay here Mrs. Bates. I do believe it's meant to be a long time."

Anna walked to the door, Bates right behind her, and raised her fist to knock when Vera called back to them. "If I help you then I want full immunity. Release back to Ireland."

"The deal is non-negotiable." Pulling the paper back out Anna read aloud, " 'An offer for partial pardon. On the conditions of exemplary cooperation with the office of Naval Intelligence I, Vera Bates, will receive release from Lancaster prison with remand to the custody of the authorities in Northern Ireland. There I will serve out the remainder of my days on parole, subject to routine examinations and investigations to ensure that I no more have contact with the enemy state of Germany.' It's very clear."

"I want what I want or no deal."

Anna lowered the page, "It's a one-time offer, Mrs. Bates. Either you sign this here and now or you stay here until your bones rot away in your cell… or someone decides to release your miserable corpse before death claims you. That's the only choice you have at this moment."

Vera ground her teeth, eyes meeting Anna's. They stared one another down. The woman with an Irish accent, dark hair, and a nasty temper against the petite blonde willing to go down fighting. Anna stiffened her spine, keeping her gaze steady on the woman acting proud despite the abysmal circumstances. No matter what else happened, if Anna backed down now this woman would win.

But she did not.

Vera broke first and held up a hand. "I can't sign it without a pen."

Anna walked the paper back to Vera, pulling a pen from her pocket. Just as Anna went to hand her the pen Vera clawed for it. She grabbed it away and tried to stab at Anna but the cuffs stopped her motions. Anna dodged out of the way, grabbed her wrist, and banged it on the table. The jerk reaction let the pen clatter to the tabletop, rolling to the edge before dropping onto the floor.

"That wasn't very nice." Anna bent for the pen, holding it in a tight grip as Vera tried to survey the damage to her hand. "You'll bruise but you'll heal."

"Glad to get a lick in?" Vera looked over Anna's shoulder to holler at Bates, standing by the door. "She fight like this in bed Johnny?"

"Are you going to sign or not?" Anna held the pen just out of Vera's reach. "Time is of the essence in this."

"Who're you trying to find?"

"What makes you think we're trying to find anyone?"

Vera shook her head, smiling at Anna the same way a wolf smiles at sheep, "You wouldn't be here to offer me a pardon, partial or otherwise, unless you had a reason. You need to find someone from my old network and the only way to do that is to get me to help you."

"Then who're we trying to find?"

"My guess?" Vera pursed her lips a moment before shrugging, "Probably Carlisle. That little twat always had a tendency to slip through the tiniest cracks."

"Learned that from personal experience did you Vera?" Bates finally moved from the door, "Is he small then?"

"A woman never kisses and tells Johnny." Vera leaned over the table at him, "Not that this little trollop doesn't already know but if there's one thing I regret about not being with you anymore it's that you never failed to fill."

"So glad I satisfied you in one area since the rest of our marriage was a complete shambles." Bates snorted, "If I was so satisfactory then why leave?"

"You weren't always there and I had needs."

"Did Carlisle fill those?" Anna closed her eyes, still holding the pen, as the anger rose in Bates's voice. "Was he who ruined us?"

"You give other people too much credit for our destruction Johnny." Vera sniffed, "I was bored and I found something to keep me occupied. A woman needs a hobby. It was that simple."

"Betraying your country?"

"I'm Irish Johnny. This isn't my country."

"Be that as it may," Anna held up a hand to stop Bates, "You have the chance to return to your country and perhaps repair some of the damage you did to this one before you do."

"Give up my solitary cell here to be followed through the streets for the rest of my life?"

"At least you'd get to see streets, Mrs. Bates." Anna extended the pen, "It's your choice and the offer's about to expire."

Vera stared between pen and paper before taking the pen again. She hurriedly scribbled her name on the page before signing the bottom. With a huff she tossed the pen on top of it and held up her hands, "I'm ready to be released."

"Not yet." Anna gathered the paper. "We send this back to our office tonight and they finalize all the details. Tomorrow morning there'll be a prison transfer for you down to London. Before you reach your next destination your convoy will encounter some problems. They'll pull to the side of the road. A team of our agents will then extract you and bring you to the rendezvous. The news of your escape will get the attention of your network and they'll be less surprised when you show up on their doorstep. Then you'll be taken to the launching point where you will meet Mr. Bernhard and I before we go to France to draw out your friend, Carlisle. Do you understand what I've just told you?"

Vera turned to John, her face breaking into a terrible grin. "Bernhard? They call you Mr. Bernhard now?"

Bates straightened as Vera spluttered, trying to speak through her terrible joy, "How's it feel to be a part of my world Johnny?"

Bates walked to the door, banging on it before stepping back. The door opened and he walked out, leaving Anna. She held up a hand to the guard and faced Vera.

"Let me make one thing explicitly clear to you, Mrs. Bates. The deal states your 'exemplary' assistance to our cause. Anything less than that and you come right back here."

"You'd go back on your word?"

"Only if you do first." Anna went to leave but stopped, "And another thing."

She walked right up to Vera, lowering her voice, "If you, in any way, make this mission difficult I'll kill you. There won't be a report and I won't even need a gun to do it. Cause us any trouble, betray us, or in any way attempt to make things harder for Mr. Bernhard than they already are and I'll slit your throat and leave you to bleed out in a ditch." Anna bent down so she and Vera were on the same level, "Understand?"

"Perfectly." Vera nodded toward the door, "Be careful with Johnny. He breaks easily."

"I doubt that." Anna grabbed her things and left the room.

* * *

Bates was sure his hands were numb considering the whites of his knuckles were visible in the dark and had been for the last fifteen minutes. Anna's voice, muffled with the distance and the wall between them, sounded in the other room as she finished a coded report over the telephone. Bates turned his head to see Lancaster castle in the distance. Somewhere in its walls Vera sat in her solitary cell, gloating over her victory.

He hissed as his hands dug into the balcony railing further. He lost all control with her and abandoned Anna. Even in the aftermath she was the one who reported their success and now gave her debrief over the line to Mary and Admiral Crawley on the other end.

Taking a deep breath he hung his head. A noise from the doorway drew his attention and he saw Anna standing there, leaned against the frame. He tried to smile at her but his mouth just would not work that way.

"Something on your mind Mr. Bernhard?"

"Could you not call me that tonight?" He spoke to the street below, not daring to look at her. "I don't think I can be him right now."

"Alright," She walked closer to him, resting her arms on the railing. "Something on your mind, Mr. Bates?"

"I'm sorry I left you in there."

"We all meet things we don't know how to deal with."

"It's unacceptable."

"If I'd a problem with it I would've said something." Anna put a hand on his, prying it from the railing. "Just going into the room was exceedingly brave John."

"I-" He shook his head, "She knows just how to wind me up. That things she said about you-"

"Weren't true and so I didn't listen." Anna put her hand on Bates's cheek, "I don't give her power over me and you can't either."

"She's in my head Anna."

"Then let me put something else there." Anna pulled his other hand from the railing, "We're not giving her power over us any longer."

"Not sure how we do that."

Anna grinned at him and Bates felt his blood change course at the look in her eyes. "I know a way."

She pulled Bates into the bedroom and pointed to the bed. "Strip yourself and lay there."

"Are you giving me a massage?"

"Something like that." Anna bent over their cases, digging inside his to find a few things. When she noticed he had not moved she stopped, "Move now Mr. Bates or you ruin the exercise."

Bates pulled his tie loose, removing his coat and draping it over a chair in the room. He undid the buttons on his cuffs and shirt as Anna approached him. He grinned at her when she undid his belt but she pulled it from the loops of his trousers without a word. Bates bent to kiss her but she dodged it, collecting his tie from the chair.

"Anna?"

"Naked and on the bed, now." She ordered and Bates pulled his shirt off, raising an eyebrow at the two belts and ties in her grip now.

His trousers and pants joined the rest of his clothes on the chair. The bed sank slightly as he climbed onto it, waiting. Anna walked over to the bed and pulled his left arm above his head, using one of the ties to secure it to the bedpost.

"Test it." She waited and he did not move, "Test the bind John. I don't want to cut off any of your circulation."

He pulled at it, "It's fine."

"Can you move?"

"If I wanted to."

"Good." She pulled his legs to the end of the bed and used the two belts to keep him secure there. Walking around to the other side of the bed she finished with the last tie on his right arm.

"Anna, what is this?"

"Do you remember?" Anna unzipped her dress, working it off her shoulders as Bates watched, "When I tied you to the chair in your kitchen?"

Bates felt his mouth go dry and struggled to respond. "Yes."

Anna looked up, smiling when she caught sight of his erection standing taller. "Good. Then you remember how I also told you I was going to tie you to the bed and take what I wanted from you?"

Bates could only nod, the memory of her tying him to his kitchen chair filing his mind. His eyes refocused when Anna touched his face. She smiled down at him, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"I'm going to teach you that we're our most free when we give our control to someone else." She stepped back to finish disrobing, "That's what you taught me. I think you need to remember who controls you."

"Who's that?" He croaked as Anna climbed onto the bed, sitting between his spread legs.

"Not Vera, that's for sure." Anna leaned over him, her hair still held up and out of the way. Bates reached for it but the ties kept his hands from reaching her. He whined and Anna grinned at him, "Who controls you John?"

"You."

"Good answer." Anna kissed near his ear and started toward his neck, "Because I'm going to spend the night reminding you of that."

She worked her way down him, kissing where she wanted and ignoring all the protests from Bates when he tried to hold her. Anna wrapped to his other ear, stroking her hands over his spread arms to clasp his fingers with hers. "Just remember, if you feel it's too much, say 'Friday'."

"Why 'Friday'?"

"Because if you're truly uncomfortable you'll think about her." Anna winked, bringing her fingers back down Bates's arms to cup his cheeks, "And I don't want you feeling uncomfortable."

Her lips moved over his face. Bates closed his eyes, to lose himself in the nerves she sparked as she worked over his face to leave no bit of skin unloved. The care to his neck reflected her attention to detail while her hands slid over her his arms again.

His breathing hitched when her body moved down his, gliding to rest right above where he was already ready for her. But Anna took her time. She raked her nails down his sides, kneading and molding with her fingers as she caressed his scars with her lips. Nerves tingled, even those slightly deadened by the scarred skin, while Anna worked herself down.

Her wet center eased over him, slowing her pace as she met his eyes. He sobbed to himself when he watched her moved her hands to his base. But she only used it for leverage while kissing over the scar on his leg. Muscles twitched under her, Bates admitting to himself he no longer controlled his own body.

She eventually worked her mouth back up to his arousal. Damp kisses worked over his hips and fingers grazed his sack. Trembling, Bates tried to speak but found his mouth too dry to do more than choke. He cleared it, Anna stopping her exploration of the skin buzzing around her attentions, and spoke.

"Please Anna."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No," He shook his head so quickly his cheeks touched the pillows on either side of his head, "I want you to just finish me."

"With pleasure." Anna arranged herself between his legs, "And, I warn you, I won't stop until you come."

His eyes rolled back into his head when she took him into her mouth. Her cheeks hollowed to suck him as far as she could before rising back to his tip. Her tongue rasped around him, pulling like someone trying to gather all the remains of an ice cream, and she dove back down. He bucked toward her, trying to move but finding the ties on his hands and feet exceedingly efficient. All the movement was restricted to his hips and core.

She ran her tongue in his slit and Bates cried out, fists clenching. Her fingers glided over him, easing around his hips before grasping his base or fondling his sack. Sweat gathered on his forehead as his hips worked to thrust into the depths of her mouth.

As he came, crying out her name loud enough for the occupants of Lancaster castle to hear him, Bates met Anna's eyes. The glint there had Bates rutting even faster. She drank him down, holding tight to him until his body stopped moving.

Rising up Anna smiled at him, licking her lips before reaching over him. She untied his hands before putting her knees on either side of his chest. "How are you feeling now John?"

Bates ran his hands up her legs, caressing her hips before fingering her. Anna sighed with it but grabbed his hands. "Not yet John."

"Not yet?"

"Not quite, anyway." She positioned herself over his face, holding the headboard, "Now it's my turn."

Bates met her eyes, grinning himself as he dug his fingers into her legs, "My pleasure."

"I think it's mine." Anna maintained eye contact with him as she knelt closer to his mouth.

His tongue immediately went to work, sucking and drinking from her like a man dying of thirst in a desert. His fingers held her steady and then worked in tandem with his mouth, pulling at her. His eyes never left her, watching as Anna's fingers clenched at the headboard, holding it to keep herself steady as she ground down on him.

The plunges of his fingers operated in tandem with his tongue as he kissed, laved, relished, and lapped her to the point where Anna panted without really filling her lungs. Bates heard the gasps of her voice, watching her breasts bobbing above him, and smiled before diving deeper. His fingers worked inside her while he moved his teeth to the top of her sex, biting down as her muscles gripped his fingers.

When she broke, calling out his name and shaking, he slipped his arms up to grab her waist. She slid down his body before rolling to the side. Bates, still strapped to the end of the bed, sat up to undo the belts before leaning over to kiss Anna for the first time that evening.

Whatever energy she had left she gave to the kiss as they took their taste from one another. Bates ran his hand up to her hair, pulling it loose as he sucked her tongue, and broke away only to set the pins and the hair tie on the bedside table. He moved back to her and smiled to match the way she beamed at him.

"You never used the safe word."

"I felt safe with you," Bates ran his thumb over her cheekbone, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me." Anna nestled into his side, "I only did what someone who loves you would do."

"I guess I've never had someone who loves me like you do."

"Then," Anna kissed his nose, "Get used to this being what love feels like."

"I can do that." He held her closer, "I can do that."

* * *

Anna knocked on the door, waiting for him to call to her, before pushing it open. She waited a moment, watching the labored rise and fall of his shoulders as he leaned on the sink. His hair was damp, the air in the bathroom swirling with a touch of steam from his wash, and only a towel hung around his hips.

He looked over at her, "They sent us the details then?"

"They'll be there in three hours. The boat leaves the minute they've got her on board. They want the midnight tide, figure the cover of darkness'll help us get past anything the Germans have going to stop us. That means we need to be there in two hours for final checks."

"Right." Bates stared at himself in the mirror and Anna leaned on the doorknob.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm- I'm fine."

Anna walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. He turned ever so slightly as she folded her arms over her chest. "You're not fine."

"We're about to sneak into enemy territory with my ex-wife who, at any moment, might turn on us." Bates gripped the edge of the sink and Anna watched the contraption wobble a little from the wall. "No, I'm not fine."

"If you want I can request Thursday to come instead."

"No," Bates shook his head, "Thursday'd be outclassed by her in a second. Besides, we've already been briefed and we have our covers. They'll never buy him as her husband. It'll be too much for him."

"Is it too much for you?"

"I know what to expect from her."

"Somehow I think she knows what to expect from you too." Anna leaned against the wall next to the mirror, eyes taking in the man almost vibrating with rage and tension in front of her. "She'll wind you up."

"I'm not afraid for me." Bates pushed away from the sink, running a hand through his wet hair before putting his hands on his towel-covered hips, "I'm afraid for you."

"Me?" Anna gave a short laugh, "There's nothing that woman can do to me."

"She could kill you."

"She'd have to get up much earlier in the morning to try that." Anna looked down at the sink and grabbed Bates's razor. "Take this."

"What?"

"Take it." She held it out to him and Bates took it from her hand.

He held it loosely, shrugging at her. "What do I do with this? I already shaved."

"Attack me." Anna motioned him forward with her hands and Bates raised his eyebrows.

"Excuse me?"

"Attack me with it."

"Do you have a death wish?"

"No," Anna walked toward Bates, snapping the towel from around his waist and rolling it in her hands, "I've got a point to prove."

Bates came at her and Anna wrapped his wrist in the towel. She spun his arm behind his back and pressed on the tendon in his wrist. He released the razor and she caught it, bringing it to his neck as she twisted his arm up his back. He winced and tried to break her grip but could not.

Anna released Bates, dropping the towel and giving him the razor. "Again."

Bates cut low and Anna dodged back. He swiped high and she ducked under his arm. She wrapped her arms over his shoulders and lifted herself off the ground to wrap her legs around his neck. Holding his arm in hers she twisted with her body to have Bates stumbling to the floor. With a pull on his arm he released the razor and she grabbed it, flipping around to hold it to his neck again.

They were both breathing hard as Anna stood, setting the razor on the sink again, "As you can see, I'll be fine."

Bates got off the floor and grabbed Anna as she went to leave the bathroom. She spun in his grip and he kissed her. They broke apart a moment and she saw the dilation in his eyes, felt the speed of his chest against hers, and relished the pressure rising near her stomach. She grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down to her again.

In a moment he broke the kiss, spinning her around so her hands hit the sink. She gripped there as he kissed her neck, one of his hands working under her shirt to massage her breasts, and the other worked her skirt up. His fingers fumbled with her underwear, pushing it to the side as his fingers glided into her.

Her moans filled the bathroom as he worked her to the edge. Anna met his gaze in the bathroom mirror as he nudged her collar aside enough to bite lightly where her neck met her shoulder. She cried out and felt him shift behind her, holding her skirt to her waist as he plunged into her.

They held still a moment, as if savoring the sensations, before he moved again. He slipped almost all the way out of her before driving back with enough force to lift her to her tiptoes. The cradle of his hips held her steady and the sound of him hitting her as deeply as he could filled her ears. She groaned, hanging her head, as he rutted into her with all his strength.

When he paused she turned around, almost frantic and on edge. He grinned at her and looked down. Anna saw it then, the sight of her impaled on him, and keened. Bates leaned over to kiss her, his hand at her breast squeezing while his hand at her hip moved forward to stroke her.

Anna lost herself in the feel of him filing her completely and vaguely noted the sink shifting in her hold. But when she came crying his name, and he finished a moment later, all Anna could focus on was not falling to the floor. His arm wrapped around her from behind and he kissed her neck as he withdrew.

"I'm sorry I worried."

"Don't be," She moved to kiss his lips, "If you're like this every time we have to travel with your ex-wife then we need her around more often."

Anna laughed as Bates held up a finger, shaking it at her, "That's not funny."

Anna tried to get ahold of herself, holding up two fingers slightly apart from one another. "Little funny?"

Bates smiled and kissed her cheek, "Maybe a little."

"Good," Anna moved away, smoothing down her skirt, "Because I should probably wash myself again. Don't want her to smell you on me."

"Maybe that was the point."

"John," Anna ran a finger down his jawline, "If you wanted to prove yourself to me, you're too late. And if you wanted to prove yourself to her then we can find a better way."

Bates kissed her again, taking his time to stroke into her mouth as she held him to her with a hand to his cheek. He pulled away, rubbing a hand on her neck, "I'm lucky I have you."

"Yes you are." Anna kissed him, "Now let's clean ourselves or we'll miss our boat Mr. Bernhard."

"Yes Ms. Monday."


	11. Death

Bates peeked out the porthole before dropping back down, "I'd say another hour, maybe a bit more."

"Then we're no closer than the last time you checked," Vera scoffed, "You always were a wonder at stating the obvious Johnny."

"Please remember to use the names we gave you," Bates glanced over at Anna as she turned the page of a file, squinting in the low light from the lantern next to her. "We have them for a reason."

"So I don't give anyone away," Vera waved her hands, "I'm not an idiot."

"All evidence to the contrary." Bates muttered and sat down.

Vera scowled at him before turning back to Anna, "And I'm just supposed to call you 'Ms. Monday' the whole trip am I?"

"That's my name, Mrs. Bernhard, and I'd prefer you use it." Anna never looked up from her file.

Vera moved toward Bates and it took all the control he had not to shift away. She jerked a thumb at Anna, "What do we need a guard dog for?"

"She speaks French. I don't and unless you took a course I don't know about you don't either. We're going to France and we need someone who speaks French."

"She'll ruin the moment." Vera snaked a hand over Bates's, "What if I want to be alone with my husband?"

"I'm not your husband. Not anymore."

"We have the same surname again Johnny."

"It's a cover," Bates forced her hand away, "Nothing more."

"We have to be believable." Vera used the back of her hand on Bates's cheek but he shook her off, "You're not acting the husband."

"Then maybe you should've acted the wife." Bates stood up and walked to where Anna still read through the file. He ran a hand through his hair, pacing.

"You're letting her get to you." Anna turned another page, sneaking a look up at him, "If you do that then this is all for naught."

"I can't stand her touching me," Bates shuddered, "It feels wrong."

"Why?" Anna closed the file and Bates took the spot next to her.

"Because." He lowered his voice and Anna raised an eyebrow.

"Because you and I are together?"

"Yes."

"Mr. Bernhard, I need to make something very clear to you," Bates stared at Anna, not used to this tone. "We're professionals and this is what we do. If this mission requires you to attempt a form of intimacy with your wife then that's what you need to do. The only reason Admiral Crawley allows you and I to pursue a romantic relationship is because he trusts us to put the mission first. Should he be given any reason to suspect otherwise that'll be the end of it so we need to put the mission first, at all times."

"Are you saying you'd sleep with someone if the situation called for it?"

"I'd sleep with the whole Nazi party if I thought it would end the war." Anna took the file back, "We compartmentalize our lives and that means we separate our minds from our bodies if the situation calls for it."

"I can't do that."

"Then learn, Mr. Bernhard." Anna put her hand on his, "Sex is a weapon in this war, like any gun. If I need to use it I will and I suggest you learn you may have to do the same."

"What about us?"

"What about us?" Anna smiled at him, "We're more than the bodies we share, Mr. Bernhard. I'm more than the body I share with you. If I need to use that body to get what I need than I will but it doesn't cheapen what I share with you."

"Why not?"

"Because I share my soul with you, John," Anna's voice was barely a whisper, "That's never going to change no matter how many men I have to knob to end the war. If I need to screw someone to accomplish a mission then I drop my knickers. That's the long and the short of it."

"Is that really how you feel about it?"

Anna opened up her file again, "That's the way it is, Mr. Bernhard. It's the job we do. It's not glamorous, and it's certainly not fun, but it's necessary. I believe in doing what's necessary to save my nation from the Nazis. I don't discriminate on what that might entail."

Bates took a breath, "What if I can't?"

"Then you should've let Thursday come." Anna shrugged, "This is the business, Mr. Bernhard."

Bates bit his tongue, nodding. "I understand."

"I don't think you do, not yet." Anna used her file to point at Vera, "I'd suggest you find a way to at least touch her without flinching."

He walked to where Vera fiddled with her coat and sat next to her. His hands flexed open and closed on his legs. Taking a deep breath he turned to Vera, "What can you tell us about Carlisle?"

"Oh," Vera raised an eyebrow at him, "Now you want to know about my business. When they arrested me you swore blind to all the angels you didn't know anything."

"I didn't know anything. I still don't."

"But now you want to?"

"We're going into enemy territory to stop a spy. I need to know more about him so I'm prepared."

Vera nodded in Anna's direction, "Why not ask your little trollop about him. She's been reading his file since we left."

"I don't need his statistics or his life story. I need what you know about him. What made him special to your organization? What did he give you that no one else could?"

"It's not about what he gave but what he was willing to do." Vera snorted, "He used to work in the papers, did you know that?"

"I read it, yes."

"Carlisle worked out a system, through his publishing network, that got messages transferred as information of no consequence."

"Like what?"

"Little things. Notes about local eggs for sale or someone hoping to find a French tutor." Vera shifted on top of the box, "He had a few journalists working for him directly in France, England, Ireland, and Germany. That's how he got the information to our contacts in Berlin so quickly."

"Then he'll be hiding with his journalists in France?"

"Only if he's a fool. The protocol is to lay low so no one knows who's connected to whom."

"If you sent him a message would he respond?"

Vera's lip twitched upward, "Carlisle and I always had a special relationship Johnny. Everyone else might've written me off but he knew I'd never betray him. I went to that cell with my mouth shut tighter than your trouser zipper."

Bates pinched the bridge of his nose, "So if you show up in France looking for him will he smell a rat?"

"Not if your lot did their job and made it look like I was nabbed in the middle of a prison transfer. If that happened then he'll think someone from our network came through for me." Vera leaned back, "He'll come when I call. Just like you used to."

Bates gritted his teeth, "How do we call him?"

"Leave that to me Johnny." She grinned at him, "Trust me."

"Not if you were the last woman on earth."

"Ah," Vera pouted, "Are you upset that I might've put a little wrench in the works between you and your little side bit over there?"

"Monday's not my side bit."

"But you are sleeping with her Johnny." Vera pointed at John's eyes, "I can see it there in the depths. You've got that same affection you once had for me."

"More fool me."

"No doubt." Vera laughed and Bates shuddered as it grated down his spine. "But I can see why you like her."

"Because she's nothing like you?"

"Because she's everything like me, Johnny." Vera pointed at Anna, still absorbed in her reading, "She lives on the lies she tells people. She controls you with those lies and you're convinced she loves you."

"Monday and I are professionals."

"About as professional as a farmer owning rabbits." Vera shook her head, "You've convinced yourself that she's in love with you like you are her. But, at the end of the day, she's going to choose her profession over you. She'll do her job and leave everyone else dead in her wake if necessary."

"She's not like you."

"Ask her," Vera nodded at Anna, "Go on, ask her. Ask if she'll give it all up just to stop Ol' Hitler in his battle for the soul of Britain."

Bates refused to answer and Vera sneered at him, "You're in over your head with her Johnny, just like you were with me. You keep thinking people are as romantic as you are, that people believe in honor and justice and goodness when they don't. People believe in what's best for them and, in the end, she'll never choose you like you would her."

Vera ran a hand down Bates's hair, clicking her teeth at him as if to chide his childlike innocence, "The truth's hard Johnny but we know, don't we, that in the end you're just too good for this world and this job."

Bates grabbed her hand, "You don't know me and you never did."

"Maybe not. But you never knew me Johnny and you don't really know her." Vera took her hand back, "Don't let your cock decide where your allegiance lies. Remember how it turned out with me?"

"As I've said, she's not you."

"She's exactly me, just on the other side."

Bates folded his arms and sat back against the crates, brooding to himself.

* * *

Anna lowered the field glasses and shook her head, "I don't like it."

Vera snorted, "You wouldn't."

"I meant I don't like it for you," Anna said over her shoulder, "He's picked somewhere too exposed. If anything happens you'll have no cover."

"It's a trust game love."

"It's foolish and dangerous." Anna stood, pointing over the edge of the balcony at the café, "With the soldiers right there if anything goes wrong they'll be on you faster than I can reload from here and Mr. Bernhard couldn't get to your aid fast enough. You'd be bleeding out in minutes."

"That's if you think they'll shoot me."

"In my experience Nazis aren't really the kind to take prisoners with a warm smile and a request." Anna turned to Bates, "What do you think?"

Bates shrugged, "It's not really my area of expertise."

Anna raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"I think," Bates pushed off from his lean on the table in the tiny, rented flat, "I should be at the table with her. If she's suggesting I join their little endeavor he needs to see me. Needs to see my commitment."

"How are you committing?"

"We could out you." Vera shrugged, her lips working into a smile she did nothing to conceal.

Anna scowled, "Without stranding any of us in France behind enemy lines, I mean."

"We give him the information Green had. The last of the smugglers that the Admiral's still hunting down. We offer shipping routes and say we can get more."

"Is that something Carlisle would trust came from a turned Naval Intelligence officer?" Anna put a hand on her hip, holding the other open-palmed toward Vera. "If we're suggesting that Mr. Bernhard only turned on you so violently after your capture as a way to throw off the scent, is this enough to convince Carlisle that Mr. Bernhard is what he claims?"

"As a Navy man he'd have an ear to the ground about smuggling so, it's a good start." Vera walked to the balcony and looked down at the café across the street. "At least it's not a basement bar. There are clear exits."

"None that won't leave you exposed for a hundred meters at least or cause civilian casualties."

"We lose people in war Ms. Monday," Vera ran a hand over Anna's face, chiding her, "If you can't take the blood then maybe you should leave this to professionals."

"I'd rather trust a fox in my henhouse." Anna walked to Bates, "Are you alright to handle Carlisle on your own?"

Bates nodded, "I think I know how to lie well enough."

Anna paused, "Are you alright?"

"Never better."

"You don't sound better." Anna folded her arms, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"I believe that like I believe her." Anna jerked a thumb at Vera, "What's wrong Mr. Bernhard?"

"Nothing and if there was I'd keep it to myself because that's what professionals do, isn't it?"

Anna sucked her teeth, "If you have a problem, Mr. Bernhard, I do ask that you don't let it interfere with the mission at hand."

"Because you wouldn't?"

"Because if you're distracted then the chances of you dying rise exponentially." Anna walked back toward the open balcony doors and grabbed the rifle there, "I'll have eyes on you from here. Remember, if you get into trouble-"

"Knock over the coffee cup," Vera pushed past Anna, grabbing her handbag and the hat, "This isn't my first time at this."

"More's the pity there." Anna nodded at Bates, "You know the exit?"

"Got it." Bates shoved his arms through the sleeves of his coat and grabbed his hat, "We'll be fine."

"I hope so." Anna watched him leave before dragging a chair just out of view of the balcony doors and setting her gun on her legs.

The bell ran across the square and Anna checked it against her own watch, shaking her head as she slipped it off to wind it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Bates and Vera- noticeable by the hats Anna insisted they wear- walk across the street. Even arm in arm Anna noticed how stiff they were and shook her head.

They took their seats in the café with Bates ordering. Anna wondered if his German was good enough to fool the server but a moment later when she saw how he glared at the couple Anna smiled to herself. The coffee arrived and Anna watched Bates slide it on the table until it balanced almost precariously near the edge.

She pulled the field glasses to her eyes and watched Bates and Vera chat. She could almost read their lips but with Vera almost three-quarters turned from her all Anna could make out was the occasional terse response from Bates. Rolling her eyes Anna dropped the glasses a moment.

That was when she saw movement further up the road. She pulled the glasses to her eyes and spotted a trio of men in long coats pointing toward the soldiers milling outside their post. Anna adjusted the magnification on the glasses and stood slowly. One of the men moved his coat just enough for her to spot an automatic rifle tucked under his arm.

Grabbing at the white handkerchief Anna saw Vera stiffen as a thin man approached their table. He removed his hat, setting it near the coffee cup, and kissed Vera's hand. Anna put the stock of the rifle under her shoulder and pulled the lever before putting the field glasses back to her eyes.

The man smiled at Vera, taking a moment to barely register Bates presence at the table, and almost oozed charm even from a distance. Anna looked back to where the trio were joined by two women in dark coats. They split away, taking up positions in windows with clear lines of sight on the soldiers keeping post near the café.

Anna raised the handkerchief, flipping it so Bates could see it. Their eyes met for a minute and she pointed behind them. Bates turned in his seat to see the trio walking down the street toward the soldiers. He put a hand on Vera's chair and leaned to her ear, whispering to her. Vera turned in her chair and then put her hand over Carlisle's.

A shot broke the glass of the café window and a hail of bullets rained across the square. Anna placed her rifle on the balcony and picked off one of the soldiers bringing up his rifle to take out the woman in the far window. She pulled the lever again and aimed at a truck barreling down the alley. With an exhale she targeted the driver and fired.

The sound of a horn followed by shouts as crumbling masonry signaled the truck's unexpected stop into the side of a building. Anna collected her rifle and saw Bates and Vera hustling Carlisle away from the café. Grabbing her field glasses and the only other thing in the flat- a canvas bag- Anna left the building.

She took the backstairs down a floor before climbing out a back window. The rooftops were slick with the rain from the night before and the overcast that had yet to dry anything but she managed to get around the windows to drop down to the next building. Kicking at a window latch she ducked into a flat and down the stairs inside the building.

Reaching the alley she walked to the truck there. She opened the door and threw the rifle and canvas bag into the seat before climbing after them. The key dangled from the starter and she turned it twice before the engine caught enough to rumble to life.

Anna put her arm on the back of the seat and steered out of the alley. The lip on the road bumped her but she changed gears and drove forward, narrowly avoiding colliding with a Nazi truck heading in the other direction. Anna ducked down, steering with her eyes barely over the dash, and dug a hand into the bag for the map.

It flapped a bit when she spread it over the seat, bouncing on the rutted roadway, and Anna used one hand to hold it steady while navigating the tight streets. She took a tight corner, grimacing at the scraping sound of stonework on the side of the truck. A few minutes later she pulled the truck to a stop.

Anna threw the door open as three figures ran toward her. She opened the far door and Vera slid into the front seat as Anna jumped out of her door to let down the rear latch. The first bolt pulled easily and after slamming her palm into the second it opened. The back dropped enough for Bates to dump Carlisle in the bed.

With Bates climbing into the back Anna turned to retake her position in the driver's seat when a crack sounded. She stumbled, grabbing for the side of the truck, as fire exploded in her left shoulder. Her teeth clenched and she pulled herself along the side of the truck while risking a look back. The man reloading his rifle went down with a shot between the eyes as another crack sounded in the air.

Anna climbed into the driver's seat and reached for the door with her shoulder screaming. The truck reverberated when it latched in place and Anna pulled the truck to drive, letting the clutch go. A hand reached over to her but Anna brushed Vera off.

"You may not like me, dearie, but you're bleeding."

"I'll be fine." Anna grimaced, the wet drip of the blood running down her back and through her shirt proving Vera right. "I've been injured before."

"Right." Vera pulled the canvas bag to her lap as Anna steered onto a back road, bumping them along. "At least let me patch it before you bleed all over the seat."

"Fine." Anna held as still as possible while taking them through the turning roads into the countryside heading north as Vera reached around her to bind at the bleeding.

"It's not a fix. We need to get a look at it."

"Focus on the objective." Anna turned the wheel, "My shoulder'll be fine."

"If it's just your shoulder." Vera sat back. "What happened?"

"French Resistance." Anna winced as her shoulder pulled and blinked the haze from her vision. "They were after the soldiers."

"I told Carlisle as much but he thought we betrayed him."

"How'd you get him back here then?" Anna peeked over her shoulder to where Bates used his belt to tie Carlisle's hands together in the back of the truck.

"Johnny used his big fists and let him see stars." Vera laughed, "Carlisle couldn't stop us taking him when he was unconscious over Johnny's shoulder now could he?"

"I guess not." Anna's hands slipped on the wheel and she almost lost control of the truck. Vera reached over, grabbing it before slipping her foot over Anna's on the pedals.

"You need to lie down, now." Vera grabbed Anna's shoulder and pulled her sideways while maneuvering over her body to take the driver's seat. "I didn't just brave Nazi and French bullets to die in this truck in the northern backwoods of France."

Anna did not respond as her vision blackened.

* * *

Bates paced the room, dipping to lift the corner of the sheet covering the window before looking back over to where Vera had a pair of pliers buried in Anna's shoulder. Anna's fist clenched and she grunted against the rag stuffed in her mouth. Carlisle, sitting nearby, fought against the belt keeping his hands tied to his waist and tried to move the gag from his mouth. Bates cuffed him around the head and Carlisle spit at him but then choked himself for a moment when the gag stopped his efforts.

Bending by Vera, Bates lifted the lantern just a tad and Vera adjusted the pliers in Anna's back, sending the other woman almost screeching in agony. But a moment later Vera pulled the pliers free, holding a depressed bullet in the tines. She shrugged at Bates and dropped it into the tin cup before pulling the cork from the small bottle of whiskey she dug out of the canvas sack. With a wink, Vera poured the contents into Anna's shoulder wound.

Anna's back arched and her fists hit the wood of the floor but otherwise she did not move until Vera finished. Bates helped tape the bandage in place before tying it in place with gauze and wrapping Anna's left arm to her chest to stop her moving it. They stepped back and Vera motioned Bates to a corner of the little shack.

"What?"

"She's lost too much blood."

"She's conscious now."

"Because she's got fire in her," Vera glanced over at Anna, still trying to catch her breath on the floor. "Much as it pains me to admit, she's only awake and alive right now because she refuses to die. We can't treat her here and waiting for treatment might kill her."

"What are you saying?"

"Waiting until midnight for that boat is a mistake."

"We can't leave any earlier."

"I don't know if you were listening to me, Johnny, but that woman's going to keep bleeding." Vera pointed at Anna, "We can either choose her or Carlisle. We get her to a hospital or we get Carlisle back to Naval Intelligence, your choice."

"You just went to the trouble of pulling a bullet from her back and you'll leave her to die?"

"She can crawl to a hospital."

"Because no one's going to ask how she got shot in the shoulder?" Bates ran a hand over his face, "If we leave now we arouse suspicion."

"The alternative is you carrying two bodies on your back down the docks." Vera snorted, "Like that's not going to arouse suspicion."

"What do you suggest?"

"I already said."

"That _doesn't_ mean leaving Monday to die."

"Ask her then, because she'd say the same thing."

Bates threw his hands in the air and walked to the other side of the shack. He walked the length for a moment before pointing at Vera, "What about that cart?"

"What cart?"

"The one right outside. We load Carlisle and Monday into it like we're just taking supplies to our boat. We're fishermen."

"No one'd buy it."

"They might from a distance and that's all we need."

Vera shook her head, "I'm here for a pardon, not a death wish."

"I seem to recall there's a component of your agreement that demands exemplary service." Bates crossed his arms over his chest, "Am I misinformed?"

"Digging a bullet from your girlfriend's shoulder is already above and beyond, Johnny."

"Not until we get home."

"I could survive here."

Bates drew his revolver and cocked it, holding it at Vera's forehead, "Help me get them into that cart or I shoot you right here."

"And risk the Nazis walking this dock?"

"I could sell it."

Vera held his gaze a moment before shrugging, "Fine."

They pulled the cart as quietly as they could to the back door of the shack. With Carlisle kicking between them Bates tossed him in, throwing the tarp over him before going back inside to pick up Anna. Vera gathered their things, tossing the bloodied bandages and medical equipment in the stove before leaving through the back.

Bates bent to pick up Anna but she shook her head, "Get Carlisle out."

"We're getting us all out."

"You'll never make it." She panted, her eyes scrunched shut as she sat up, "You need to put the mission first Mr. Bernhard."

"I am."

"No, you're trying to put me first and I'm telling you to get out of here and come back for me."

"The Admiral'll never let that happen."

"Then I get to improvise." Anna tried to smile at him but she grimaced, reaching her right arm over to hold her shoulder. "In the end we're all dead anyway."

"I don't accept that."

"You need to, John." Anna lowered her voice, "Get Mrs. Bernhard and Carlisle back to headquarters. That's what's going to do the most good here. Dragging my leaking corpse won't."

"You're not dying here, Anna."

"Yes," She looked up at him, "I am."

Bates shook his head, "No."

He ducked, slipping her over his shoulders faster than she could argue again, and went back to the cart. Vera lifted the edge of the tarp and Bates lowered Anna into the space next to Carlisle. Carlisle tried to move but Bates landed a blow to Carlisle's stomach. He exhaled in a rush and Bates lowered the tarp.

Between Vera and himself they pushed the creaking cart down the line to the docks. Bates squinted in the low light to read the names of the fishing boats there and spotted the one they wanted. He nudged Vera and nodded at it before pivoting to steer the cart in that direction.

Just as they reached the boat a coordinated thump of boots on wood drew their attention. Vera let go of the edge of the tarp as the soldiers spotted them and came down the dock toward them. They stepped back from the cart and Bates stepped forward.

"Can we help you?" He cringed at the sound of his voice trying to speak German with what he thought sounded close enough to a French accent.

The older of the soldiers nodded toward the boat, "Is this yours?"

"Yes sir."

"How long have you sailed it?"

"Since I was a boy."

"Why's this the first time I've seen you?"

Bates risked a second to think of a good answer, "My father's been ill lately and I've been caring for him."

"And your wife?" The officer pointed to Vera and Bates hung his head.

"She's a mute. Only I understand her so she can neither sail without me nor care for my father."

"Who cares for your father now?"

"God," Bates pointed toward the sky, "He's left this world only yesterday."

"And you're here?"

"I must feed my family."

"You don't mourn him?"

"He'd mourn more if I left my children to starve while burying him." Bates held his breath until the officer nodded.

"I understand. We live to give life to our children."

"Yes sir."

"Carry on." The officer motioned for the other soldier to follow him and Bates exhaled, turning back to Vera as they lifted the tarp.

Carlisle, lying in wait under the tarp, leapt at them and brought his skull up to knock into Bates's chin. Bates stumbled back, hitting the side of the cart and sending Anna rocking into the side to strike her injured shoulder. She could not hold back the cry of pain and the soldiers turned back to them.

Bates reached for his gun, knocking Carlisle in the face with it to send the man tumbling out of the cart and over the side to hit the deck of the ship. With a pivot, and spitting blood from his split lip, Bates raised his gun and fired on the two soldiers. The younger one went down in an instant but the older officer managed to get a shot off before hitting the dock.

Forcing the gun through his belt Bates turned to see Vera touching a spot at her neck. She looked at him and then the blood on her fingers from the wound on her neck spurting in time with the slowing beat of her heart. Bates rushed forward, catching Vera before she hit the wood, and went to help her into the boat as whistles sounded over the docks.

"No," She croaked and Bates stopped.

"I've got to get you on board."

"No," Vera fumbled the gun from Bates's belt and clawed her hand at the air. Bates brought her the canvas bag and she pulled the two grenades from inside. "Go."

Bates pulled Anna from the cart and settled her below deck before starting the engine. He went back on deck, quickly checked Carlisle was still breathing. The man gasped, trying to pull air into his evacuated lungs, and Bates left him to it before watching Vera pull herself vertical as she used the cart for support. She nodded at him and Bates turned back to the boat, steering toward the harbor as boots thumped over the wood.

When they were far enough away Bates heard the explosion. He looked back to see the end of the dock in flames, bodies falling into the water accompanied by screams. Gathering his breath he turned back to the task at hand, steering north west in the dark of the night.


	12. Respite

Anna opened her eyes and groaned at the pain in her shoulder. Phyllis leaned over her, shaking her head, "If I didn't know you better, Ms. Monday, I might think you enjoy injury given how often I'm treating yours."

"Not this." Anna tried to sit up but fell back to the bed. "Definitely not this."

"You're just lucky someone pulled the bullet out. It's infected but it would've been septic when Mr. Bernhard brought you to us otherwise."

"Where is Mr. Bernhard?"

"In with the Admiral. They've been questioning Mr. Carlisle since the Coast Guard picked you up and got you to our care."

"Coast Guard?" Anna tugged at the pillow behind her and Phyllis adjusted it so Anna could sit up without putting too much pressure on her shoulder, "Were we on a boat?"

"How'd you think you got away?"

"Honestly?" Anna shook her head, "I was unconscious for most of the escape."

"Probably for the best. Your body had about all it could take." Phyllis tipped Anna forward and checked the bandage on her shoulder. "Whoever shot you missed your lung. The bullet dug deep into the muscle."

"Did it tear into my Cairo injury?" Anna craned her head to look over her shoulder, "It felt like fire."

"Close but no," Phyllis untied the back of the gown before pulling a scalpel close to cut into the skin. Anna hissed but Phyllis continued. "Sorry if it hurts but I need to get rid of some infected tissue."

"Wonderful." Anna leaned forward, resting her arms between her bowed legs to stretch her back out.

The door opened and Anna looked up to see Bates. Anna smiled at him but Bates did not return the reaction. He paused at the door and went to leave but Phyllis noticed him and called out.

"Mr. Bernhard, could you help me hold Ms. Monday still?"

Bates left the door and sat on the right side of the bed, wrapping an arm around Anna's shoulders from the front and his other arm held around her waist. Anna moved her hands to hold his arm and turned to him when he shifted in her grip. He did not meet her gaze, preferring to stare at the wall behind her bedframe.

"Afraid of blood, Mr. Bernhard?" Anna joked but he only grunted.

"Hold steady now Mr. Bernhard, this'll hurt her."

Anna tightened her fingers in Bates arm as the scalpel cut deep. Her teeth gritted and she pulled her legs toward her chest. Bates arm at her chest and waist kept her in place until Phyllis pulled back.

"I got it all." She pressed a bandage to Anna's shoulder and moved Bates's hand from Anna's waist to the gauze. "Hold this in place please. I need to get a dressing for it and some antiseptic solution."

Phyllis stripped her bloody gloves, leaving them on the tray beside the bed, and left the room. Anna rested forward on Bates's arm, breathing a little heavily. After a moment she giggled to herself.

"Something funny?"

"Just," Anna shifted to see Bates, "This isn't exactly how I wanted you to hold me the next time we were in bed together."

"How's that?"

"A little less sterilely, to be honest." Anna frowned, "What's gotten into you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since we landed in France you've been cold."

"I'm a professional."

"I said 'cold', Mr. Bernhard. When I say 'cold' I don't mean professional or compartmentalized, I mean bloody arctic." Anna pushed him away and reached over her shoulder to hold the gauze herself. "What's wrong with you?"

"Wrong with me?" Bates scoffed, "I'm not the one who said I needed to be open to the idea that the woman I love will bend over a desk for the mission."

"I never said anything about bending over a desk."

"Wouldn't you?"

"If it completed the mission I'd consider it if there were no other options." Anna took a breath, "This is Vera, she got in your head."

"How so?"

"Because you, Mr. Bernhard, once told Green that I meant nothing to you when he had a knife to my neck to keep the mission safe."

"I freed you." Bates gaped, "You told me you trusted me."

"I did and that's what I'm asking of you when I say that I do what I have to for the success of the mission." Anna adjusted the bandage, "Sod it Mr. Bernhard but if this is about you not trusting me then I wish you'd just say it."

"Trust? You think this is a trust issue?"

"What else is it?" Anna flexed her jaw, "I told you I'd sleep with the whole Nazi party to end the war but that doesn't mean I will."

"Doesn't it?"

"I'm not Vera, John." Anna made sure Bates did not look away. "What she did to you was out of spite and sick pleasure. What I do, if I even have to make that decision again, is for the good of my country. I don't just go around knobbing blokes because I want to. I make calculated decisions and, though it might surprise you, when we first did it up against the wall of a shitty flat it was because of those decisions."

"That was different."

"Shitssake John it was exactly the same. Just because we enjoyed it doesn't make it different," Anna blinked, trying to explain to herself why she might be crying, "Do you really think I enjoy having to prostitute myself to my marks?"

"I-" Bates cleared his throat, "I don't know."

"Do you think I enjoy having to hide myself away in the corners of my thoughts while some disgusting man paws all over me because it's the only way to get the information I need?"

"I doubt it."

"What did Vera tell you?" Anna waited but Bates looked down at the bed, "Did she tell you that I'm just like her? Because it's not true John and never will be. I'm not her."

"I know you're not."

"No, you don't, or you wouldn't doubt me." Bates reached out a hand but Anna brushed it off. "I need to focus on recovery right now and you need to realize that I'm not your ex-wife. It's probably best that you leave now."

Anna bit the inside of her cheek as Bates stood and walked to the door just as Phyllis opened it. He held it so Phyllis could enter and then left. Phyllis frowned, turning to Anna, "Is Mr. Bernhard not staying?"

"He had somewhere to be." Anna shifted on the bed to give Phyllis better access to the wound. "I'll be fine."

"You always are. Duty first and all that." Phyllis removed the gauze and Anna grimaced as the antiseptic solution hit her wound.

"Yes, duty first and all that."

* * *

Bates paced along the river, picking up a rock to chuck into the murky brown water. He bent for another and saw a pair of female legs in his vision. Standing he recognized Mary standing there. She smiled at him and pointed to a bench before taking a seat for herself. Bates sighed and sat next to her.

"If you're here to berate me for something I'd rather you do that at the office. I'm on lunch break right now."

"Who said anything about berating you Mr. Bernhard?" Mary sniffed, pulling her coat closer, "I'm here as a friend."

"Are we friends, Friday?"

"I'm sorry," Mary laughed but Bates heard the derision there. "I didn't mean to give you the impression I'm here as your friend."

"Then whose friend?"

"Monday's." Mary faced Bates, "You're a right cockup you know."

"Heard our conversation in the infirmary did you?"

"You're not surprised?"

"I'd be more surprised if you didn't have listening devices in the men's lavs." Bates rubbed at his forehead, squeezing the rock in his palm until it dug into his skin, "You going to tell me I'm wrong?"

"Yes."

"Then save your breath." Bates stood up to leave but Mary called out to him.

"The problem is that box burning a hole in your pocket since before you went to Lancaster prison." Bates froze, pivoting slowly to see Mary, "I'm observant, Mr. Bernhard and not an idiot."

"I'd never dare call you that."

"Let's leave that conversation there so I don't hear what you'd dare call me." Mary stood, "The problem for you isn't that Monday drops trou to shag someone for information or to complete the mission. You're afraid she likes it, despite her arguments to the contrary."

"Partly."

"You're afraid she'll never be all yours if she's even a little someone else's, even for a night."

"Yes."

"Then tell her that." Mary pointed to Bates's pocket. "The biggest problem in our line of work, Mr. Bernhard, is that we can't always be truthful. Not with each other and not with ourselves. That's something we have to learn to live with. But you can be honest about your feelings to her. Those aren't going to change in a moment or even a lifetime are they?"

"No."

"Then tell her that." Mary reached out a hand and tapped it on Bates's shoulder twice.

He watched her hand and raised an eyebrow at her. "What was that?"

"Comforting, I thought." Mary withdrew her hand like something bit her, "That's what they tell me."

"It wasn't."

"Good, I never want to touch you again." Mary folded her hands into her armpits and shivered slightly, "Tell her the truth, Mr. Bernhard or you'll regret it."

"I thought you were against us being romantic."

"I am but when you make Monday as happy as you do then what else could I say against it?" Mary checked her watch, "My lunch is over and you're past due for some paperwork."

"Always to business then."

"Always." Mary smiled, "But isn't it convenient that Monday's ward is just a floor above your office?"

Bates watched Mary leave, tossing the rock in his palm twice before skipping it over the water. He followed Mary back inside, just making it into the lift with her as she pushed the button for Anna's floor. Mary brought her hand to her mouth in a fake gasp, "Oh goodness, I seem to have hit the wrong button."

"I'm so glad they don't give you field work Friday."

"They can't." Mary shrugged, "I've a child and therefore I represent a liability in the field."

Bates turned to her, "You're a mother?"

"Shocking isn't it? I don't strike you as mother material do I?"

"I wasn't going to judge."

"Out loud, you mean."

"Semantics." Bates pulled the grate as the lift dinged on his desired floor, "I'll be right down for that paperwork."

"I'll be waiting Mr. Bernhard." Mary pulled the grate closed and descended from view as Bates walked to Anna's room.

Outside the door he took a deep breath, to steel himself, and knocked. Anna's voice called for him to enter and Bates turned the knob. Anna's attention was on the file spread over her knees when he entered but she looked up as he shut the door. Putting the file down Anna shook her head.

"If you're here for an argument, Mr. Bernhard, I'm not in the mood."

"Actually, I'm here to apologize." Bates pointed to the bed and Anna spread her hands as if to say he could do as he liked. Bates sat on the edge and ran a finger over the woven material of the blanket before meeting Anna's gaze. "I accused you in fear and that wasn't fair."

Anna crossed her arms over her chest, "Go on."

"Vera did have my mind in knots a bit and I realize that you've made some armor for yourself to do the job you do. You've had to make some decisions and accept some things as reality that I haven't and I have no place to judge. It wasn't fair of me to think that you'd be anything less than honest with me and while I could try and justify it with my past experience that's not who you are so I can't lay that blame on you."

"Then why did you?"

"Because," Bates dug a hand into his pocket and wrapped it around the box there. "I only want you for myself. It's selfish, I know, but I felt in that moment like I wasn't enough for you and all the horrible realizations I had about the last time I wasn't enough for someone swamped me. I was afraid that if you turned to other people for that now then you might later too and I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"Later?" Anna furrowed her brow, "What do you mean by 'later'?"

Bates got off the bed, kneeling beside her and pulling the box out to open it. Anna covered her mouth with her hands, the file falling to the floor, when the ring glinted in the light. "This is what I mean by later, Anna."

"John-" Anna reached out a hand to take the box a moment, staring at the ring, "Is this what I think it is?"

"If you think it's me asking for you to be my wife then yes, it is." Bates put his hands over hers and Anna turned to him. "I've cocked up this whole thing lately and I'll never apologize enough. I know that I'm damaged and I know that we've both been through a lot of things we may never fully overcome but there's no one I want by my side more than I want you there. If that means that I have to accept this is what you do then I will."

"Well," Anna pulled the simple gold band from the box and fitted it to her ring finger, "You're in luck on that account then."

"How so?"

"Because I met with Admiral Crawley this morning, as part of my debrief, and requested that my assignments not risk my knickers any longer." Anna put her hands on either side of Bates's face and he felt the coolness of the metal band on her finger. "Unless I'm risking them with you because I don't want anyone else either."

Bates leaned forward to kiss her and immediately opened to her when she pushed forward with her tongue. Much to her disapproval, and his if he was honest, he broke away quickly. "This isn't the place to celebrate."

"Why not?" Anna traced a finger around his neck, "It's a private room."

"I don't fancy taking you on a hospital bed with Friday's listening devices hidden around the room."

"Might give her something worth listening to." Anna grinned but Bates shook his head.

"I'm only yours."

"I am yours and you are mine." Anna kissed his cheek and lay back, "I can wait for you."

"And I'll wait for you. Until the end of time if I have to."

"Saturday's giving me a clean bill of health and I'll be mostly healed by the end of the week so I don't think you'll have to wait that long." Anna smiled at him as Bates walked toward the door. "But it's sweet, regardless."

* * *

Anna tapped her foot as she waited in the hallway and only turned when Mary sighed heavily behind her. "What?"

"You're more nervous than I was and my husband actually had a chance of not showing up."

"I thought you were the one who almost missed your wedding." Anna raised an eyebrow and Mary shrugged.

"I'd hate to be predictable."

"Right, because that's the reason," Anna rolled her eyes, "You were terrified."

"Well I was marrying the perfect man now wasn't I? Who wouldn't be nervous?"

"First, not you because you're Mary Crawley and second you couldn't have been marrying the perfect man because I'm about to marry the perfect man."

"Without permission too," Mary whistled, "It's a gutsy move but I respect your healthy disregard for the rules in this case."

"Good." Anna checked her watch, "I'd better go up and see what's taking him."

"He's not supposed-"

"See the dress, I know. But," Anna held the edge of her skirt, "I'm not in a dress and it's not white so we both know what else we weren't supposed to do before the wedding that we obviously did."

Anna took the lift up to Bates's flat and barely gave it a second to stop before she pulled the grate back to get out at his floor. She traveled the familiar hallway and knocked on his door. When no sound came from the other side she pulled out her own key, fearing the worst.

Opening the door Anna blinked at the darkness and listened. A barely discernible breathing came from the kitchen and she closed the door before walking to the familiar space. Bates sat in the dark, holding a bottle of dark colored liquid and wearing his nicest suit. Anna pulled a chair across from him and reached out to hold the hand on his knee while his other hand stroked over the bottle. Even in the dark she saw it was unopened.

"This was a gift from my mother at my last wedding." Bates sniffed, "She said I wasn't to open it until I had a happy moment. Went unopened for twelve years."

"Today seems fitting to break the seal then." Anna rubbed her hand over his. "But that's not what's bothering you, is it?"

Bates shook his head. "I got a letter this morning."

"Oh?"

"Officially informing me that my ex-wife was declared dead by the War Office. According to them she died in a shootout after some of her crew broke her out and fled north, trying to escape to Belgium and then Berlin."

"Not quite how she died is it?"

"No." Bates swallowed, "She wasn't a good person and she did a lot of horrible things but she did save me in the end."

"And me, surprised as I am to admit that." Anna threaded her fingers between Bates's. "I'll always be a little grateful to her for pulling that bullet out of my shoulder with rusted pliers."

Bates sniffed, trying to laugh but Anna heard the catch in his throat, "I don't know why I'm even mourning. She didn't love me and, at the end, I didn't love her. Why would it matter that she's dead now?"

"You loved her once."

"I don't know if I ever really did. I've been asking myself and I can't seem to find a time I didn't resent her so how could I love her?"

"John," Anna moved her hands on either side of Bates's face, "You wouldn't have wanted a child with her or been so shredded it didn't happen if you felt nothing for her. You wouldn't be tearing yourself to pieces now if you didn't love her in the slightest degree."

"I don't know Anna."

"I do." She smiled at him, tracing his cheekbones, "I know you and you feel too much about everything to think for one moment you never loved her. For all her bad decisions she made and the misery she caused you, there was a part of you that loved her. Given what she did for you, and me, in the end I'd like to think that a small part of her loved you too."

Bates shook his head but Anna gripped his face tighter, "She wouldn't have stayed behind to blow the dock if she didn't feel something. She wouldn't have saved me if she was nothing but a heartless bitch."

"She wanted to escape hanging."

"Whatever her reasons, and I didn't say she wasn't a horrible person I just said she wasn't all horrible, she did a good thing at the end. Every person is a collection of good and bad bits. Her bad outweighed her good by metric tons but she still had good in there somewhere." Anna took a breath, "It's not a crime to mourn her now. To mourn what you thought you had with her or what you might've had once."

"No?"

"No," Anna shook her head, "Everyone needs someone to mourn them and you knew her best."

"But on our wedding day?"

"No matter what day." Anna leaned forward, kissing Bates's forehead, "Take the time you need."

As Anna went to leave Bates caught her hand. She looked down at him but Bates only held her hand a moment. Anna stayed still until Bates finally decided to speak.

"Will you-" He swallowed, "Will you stay with me?"

"Of course." Anna took her seat back, "For better or for worse."


	13. Vienna

Bates used a finger to gently brush some hair from Anna's face. She smiled, her eyes still closed. "Stop staring John, you'll make me blush."

"What if I want to make you blush Mrs. Bates?"

"Then I'd have to do something to make you blush," She opened her eyes, "Though I think you have to call me Mrs. Bernhard now."

"I'd rather not."

"Yeah, I don't really want that name either." Anna took a deep breath, "You could be Mr. Monday."

"That sounds nice."

"It does, doesn't it?" Anna grinned at him, "Almost like you're mine."

"As of yesterday I am yours, officially." Bates tickled at her, "Weren't you at the wedding yesterday?"

"Was that what that was?" Anna straddled Bates as he lay back on the bed, "I thought that was you promising to honor and obey me forever."

"Didn't you say the same thing?"

"Maybe I meant it differently." She tucked her hair behind her ears, "Maybe I meant that I would only obey you at my convenience?"

"When would it be convenient?" Bates ran his fingers up her leg, pushing her nightgown up toward her waist. "At home?"

"Too big of a space," Anna popped the buttons on his nightshirt, "How about somewhere a little smaller?"

"The bedroom?" Bates slipped a finger under the band on her knickers and pulled down.

"I could go for that," Anna bent her head to kiss at the skin of his chest now exposed to her. "I've enjoyed giving you instructions so maybe it's time for you to give me some orders to obey."

"You want me to give you orders?" Bates stopped his fingers, caressing her ass. "You want me to tell you what I want to do to you?"

"I haven't minded before." Anna ran a finger down his jaw, "I don't think I'd mind again."

"Now that you're mine?"

"Now that you're mine." Anna clarified, "You're Mr. Monday now."

"I am." Bates leaned up slightly, "That would make you Mrs. Monday."

"Yes it does." Anna moved toward his ear, "So, what do you plan to do to me Mr. Monday?"

"I think I want to try our little game again." Bates turned Anna to her back, pulling her knickers free before helping her lift her nightgown over her head. "Do you remember when you wanted to see who would call out whose name first?"

"I remember winning." Anna grinned at him as Bates pulled his shirt off and shucked his pajama trousers off with his pants.

"I think we need to try it again." Bates put his hands on either side of her, holding himself above her. "Because I think you cheated last time."

"Do you really?" Anna scratched her nails down his chest, dancing over his hardening erection. "What do you call cheating, John? Being good at making you come over all insensible?"

"No, that's part of the fun." Bates kissed up her neck, "But I want to change up the game a bit."

"How so?"

"Remember that night in Lancaster?" Anna's eyes darkened and Bates watched her chest rise and fall faster. "I'd like to try that the other way round."

"I'm at your mercy John." Anna's voice lilted slightly and Bates finally kissed her mouth, pulling her tongue for a moment before breaking away.

He dug in his drawers for three ties, testing them a moment. Walking back toward the bed he caught Anna staring at him. "See something you like?"

"I see a lot of things I like." She propped herself up on her elbows, "But I get the feeling I won't get to touch any of them for quite some time."

"Don't pout," Bates secured her wrists to the bedposts, "Test those. I don't want them so tight they cut off your circulation."

Anna tugged at them, maneuvering her body before nodding at him, "They won't hold me if I try hard enough but they'll be fine until then."

"Perfect." Bates knelt on the bed next to her, holding the third tie, "I'm going to bring you over the edge but I want you to trust me enough to wear this."

"You're blindfolding me?" Anna shook her head, sending her hair back, "This sounds more promising by the minute Mr. Monday."

"Good." Bates put a knee on either side of Anna's chest to secure the tie around her head as she leaned forward. He pulled tight in the back, careful not to tangle her hair in the knot, and moved away. Holding up three fingers Bates held them within her line of sight. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"You wouldn't hold up all five and using your thumb is cheating. You're not a fan of the number four because you spent too much time in Hong Kong so I'd think either two or three… I'm going to say three, it's your second favorite number after seven."

Bates laughed, "I think you know me too well Mrs. Monday."

"I think I know you well enough to trust that you'll stop mucking about and finish what you started." Anna lifted her hips off the bed, "I'm waiting."

Bates straddled her waist, resting his weight on his hands just under her shoulders. He bent down, whispering near her ear. "Do you want me to tell you right now what I plan to do or do you want to be surprised?"

"I'll let you surprise me." Anna turned her head toward him and for a moment Bates wanted to remove the blindfold and stare into her beautiful eyes as he sent her over the edge.

But instead he trailed soft kisses down her neck. They were gentle, barely there, almost butterfly kisses as they raised the hairs on her skin. Anna shivered with it and Bates continued his path to her collarbones. He kept his hands under her shoulders, holding himself up. With his weight distributed between his knees and his hands the only part of him touching Anna was his lips.

A slight creak had Bates breaking contact with her skin to see Anna tugging slightly on the restraints. Her fingers relaxed and Bates continued, tracing his tongue over the start of one of her scar lines. Anna pulled at the ties to lift her upper body toward him as her feet pressed into the bed behind him to give her the leverage she wanted. Bates moved one hand to her stomach, pressing her back onto the bed while his tongue continued moving downward in a zigzag over the interconnected scars.

Bates ran his tongue along the line of her hips before working back up her patchwork of shining scars to her neck. The sheen on Anna's skin, the keening whimper to her voice, and the rise and fall of her chest gave Bates no choice but to kiss her. Anna returned it as enthusiastically as she could, taking his tongue into her mouth and sucking there until Bates pulled away.

His hand at her stomach slid lower as he moved himself down her body again. Bates tried to not lift his lips from her skin as he eased her legs apart and settled between them. Blowing a stream of air at her, Bates watched Anna writhe, clutching the ties in her grasp to the tune of another creak on the bedposts.

He smiled to himself and moved his lips over her inner thighs. His hands caressed down one leg, bending it at the knee to better kiss there, and left a ring around her ankle. Bates turned to the other leg and repeated his actions in reverse to leave Anna almost sobbing when he just tickled the top of her sex.

"Just say the word Anna."

"What word?"

"My name." Bates teethed at the skin on her legs.

"That's all?"

"That's all." His tongue darted out to just taste the tip of her and Anna tried to close her legs but his body prevented her.

"Please John."

"Your wish is my command." Bates bent his head and bit at her nerves.

She cried out his name again, coming undone under him. Bates waited, moving his hands in calming circles over her legs and waiting until her breathing came under control. When it was a little more manageable Bates moved one hand under her to lift her hips toward him.

Anna's head titled toward him, trying to put herself in his line of sight though her own eyes were covered. Bates watched her face as he ran his tongue through her folds. Her head went back with each worry of his mouth of her. Anna's breathing turned to pants with the caresses of Bates's tongue on her and in her. He worked until finally he tasted more of Anna.

Bates used his other hand to delve into her, straining with his fingers to feel as much of her as he could while sucking her dry. Anna pulled even harder at the ties that held her and Bates had to look up when her fingers tugged at his hair. She pulled free of her bonds but kept the blindfold on, simply pressing him firmly to her as her hips joined in his crusade to send her over the edge again.

He applied himself more earnestly to his task and his ears heard the shriek of his name accompanied by the deluge of taste. Bates lapped at her, pulling all he could into his mouth while extricating his fingers from her determinedly clenching walls. His tongue ran up the line of her one last time before he crawled up her body, placing his glistening fingers to her mouth.

Anna pulled them in without hesitation, swirling her tongue over the digits until Bates's hips jerked of their own volition. He gritted his teeth while his body sought relief from the tightening hardness. Bates pulled his fingers from her mouth and replaced them with his own lips. She sucked at those, her hands still tangled in his hair.

Bates slid one hand down her body, the other holding the back of her head to control the kiss, and lifted her hips at the right angle. He plunged into her and Anna gasped for air, almost throwing her head backward to fill her starved lungs. His hand tightened at her waist as he rolled his hips.

Watching her bite her lip almost had Bates losing his control but he kept steady. Anna's legs wrapped around his hips as he pulled out and thrust back in, sending a groan through the both of them. He set a steady pace, bringing her out of the lull after two climaxes, and shifted slightly until he found the angle that had her fingers digging into the skin of his shoulders.

Bates shifted to kiss over her again. Taking special attention to her breasts he ran one hand over the left as he sucked at the right. Her skin already blushed under his attentions and the taste of her still on his tongue mixed with the sweat he licked before taking her nipple into his mouth. She sobbed his name and Bates pulled harder, biting down slightly.

Switching sides he gave her the same care, increasing his speed when her heels dug into his ass. He lifted his head to kiss at her neck while his hand snuck between them to rub over her nerves again. Anna broke for the third time and his name bounced off the walls of the flat.

Bates lost his control then. Rutting into her as hard and deep as he could, Bates lost himself in the sound of their meeting. She held him to her, not losing a moment of attention, and lifted her hips slightly so he hit her already sensitive nerves to leave her sobbing in pleasure.

Finally Bates released, thrusting in a few more times as his body shook with the exertion and exhaustion. He put his hands on the bed around her but Anna pulled him closer with her knees and arms until Bates rested with his head on her shoulder. Their breathing filled the room as the thunder of blood in his ears dissipated slowly.

Silk slid over his skin and Bates lifted his head enough to see Anna dangling the sweat stained tie before his eyes. "I think next time I'll use this on you."

"Will you?" Bates slipped out of her, laying on his side as she sat up, "Because I think you almost broke the bed trying to escape."

"I needed to touch you." Anna shivered, "I don't think anyone's sent me over the edge that many times."

"Anyone ever tried?"

"No," Anna bent to kiss him slowly, "You're the only one I'd ever let try."

"I'll take that as a great compliment."

"You should." Anna swung her legs to the side of the bed, "But we need to get moving or everyone'll be suspicious."

"I guess when you marry in secret you have to be aware that you're not entitled to a honeymoon." Bates sat up, "But we should take one."

"Where could we go in this climate?" Anna opened the closet and then turned to the bag open on the chair, "I need to get more of my things."

"Or I could live with you." Bates stood up, finding his pajamas and tossing them back on the bed before retrieving her nightgown. "And I'd like to take you to Ireland."

"To the sheep farm you would've had there?" Anna teased, holding her clothes in her hands, "I'd like that."

"Then it's a promise." Bates kissed her, "When we get a honeymoon, Ireland."

"Until then, we can move to my flat." Anna shook her head at his walls, "Mine's nicer."

* * *

Anna frowned at the file, almost tuning out what Admiral Crawley was saying. She read over it before scribbling something on a note and passing it to Mary. Mary read it, wrote her own reply, and passed it back. Before Anna could read it Admiral Crawley cleared his throat.

"Am I boring you, Ms. Monday?"

"No sir I was just getting clarification on our mark." Anna ran her tongue through her mouth, "I wasn't aware we still considered O'Brien an asset worth rescuing."

"All assets are."

"With all due respect, sir, she was captured trying to sell our secrets to the Nazis." Anna shrugged, "Do we save traitors?"

"We do if they were under orders to do so." Anna shot a look to Mary, who shrugged, as Admiral Crawley continued. "Ms. Monday is not wrong. Officer O'Brien did betray one of our agents in Germany but we extracted him in time because we planned it that way. We ordered Officer O'Brien to betray us to better ingratiate her with her Nazi employer but, according to our last communication with her, they thought she had nothing more to offer and now have her under house arrest in her employer's residence."

"Then we're breaking in to save Officer O'Brien?" Bates held up a photo of the building, "This place is a veritable fortress."

"That's why you're not going to break in, Mr. Bernhard." Admiral Crawley smiled, like he was proud of himself, "You're going to walk out the front door with her."

"Excuse me sir?" Bates raised an eyebrow, "Is that code for something?"

"No, it means what it sounds like it means Mr. Bernhard." Admiral Crawley tapped the photo in Bates's hand. "There's a gala there in two weeks. You and Ms. Monday will be attending."

"Not as ourselves I presume." Anna flipped through some other pages in the file. "A German businessman and French partner maybe?"

"A Swiss businessman and a Spanish liaison." Mary slid Bates and Anna individual folders and Anna immediately opened hers to read the profile. "Mr. Bernhard's company manages international transactions. He's come to offer his official, legitimate services to a German business and his less legitimate smuggling services to the Third Reich."

Anna studied the plans, "These are the routes Green was using."

"And now we use them." Admiral Crawley rolled his shoulders, "No harm in seizing it for King and Country."

"I didn't know we practiced piracy in the twentieth century." Anna said under her breath and Mary snorted.

"Mr. Bernhard's associate is the liaison from his office in Spain. You also serve as his translator."

"I don't speak German." Anna smiled at them, "I speak French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, which are not much good for a business deal in German."

"You translate for him on his European business and since he was expanding from France you're accompanying him on the rest of the trip."

"Because we're going somewhere in Germany?" Bates shrugged.

"No," Admiral Crawley shook his head, "Because you're going to Austria. Vienna specifically."

"I remember visiting Vienna before the war." Bates sighed, "Beautiful city."

"The Germans are trying to keep it that way and keep it German." Admiral Crawley cleared his throat. "You'll drop into Bern and then take the train to Vienna. Thursday's already set up your cover there so anything investigation they do will show them you're who you say you are. All your documents for the business will be verified and since we've turned the operation without much noise they'll think you're telling the truth."

"And if they don't we're stuffed." Bates muttered and Anna nodded to herself, still reading through the contents of the folder.

"You leave in two days. Get to know your covers and your history backward and forward." Admiral Crawley paused, "I'd also work in the details between yourselves as to the nitty gritty."

"We're making this up as we go?" Bates flexed his jaw, "Sounds dangerous."

Anna snorted to herself before answering. "They've given us broad strokes Mr. Bernhard, not the full picture. We're supposed to use the big details to sort out the bones of it."

"Like your favorite color, food, and sexual position." Mary gathered her documents as Admiral Crawley spluttered to the side. "Those things we don't want to assume. Harder to lie when you don't believe the lie."

"I'll keep that in mind." Bates returned to his folder, closing it and taking the other mission details. "Air drop then sir?"

"Yes, unfortunately. You'll parachute in and Thursday'll meet you at the rendezvous point. He'll then take you to the train the next day. In other situations we'd have you fly in separately and then meet at the embassy but this'll be cleaner. Thursday'll give you final details on the ground and tell you if we scrapped the mission."

"And how many days are we expected to stay before and after the gala?" Anna held up a hand, "If we could extract O'Brien without blowing the covers they might be useful later. I'd hate to burn the bridge if it can be saved."

"These ones can't, I'm afraid. You'll be riding out of there like bats out of hell." Admiral Crawley consulted his notes, "But you have three days to prep the extraction with your team."

"Is Thursday on the team?" Bates shrugged, "I like working with people I know."

"No," Admiral Crawley shook his head, "They're locals. They chose their own leader who'll make contact under the guise of business opportunities."

"Local resources make me nervous." Anna chewed the inside of her cheek, "Last time I got a gun locally sourced it jammed and I had to use the stock to cave in the man's skull instead."

"They're prepared. It's part of Thursday's job. He's been in communication with them and he needs to oversee from Bern. He'll be handling your exfiltration from Bern back here."

"He's never done groundwork before."

"Then he'll have to take baptism by fire." Admiral Crawley consulted his watch, "I've a meeting with Naval Intelligence and the Home Secretary so please, any other questions put through Friday and she'll handle them."

Bates and Anna stayed at the table, looking at one another. He shrugged, "I guess we go with it."

"It feels rushed." Anna lifted a few pages, "Like they need O'Brien out now but it makes no sense. What does she have now that's dangerous? What's she know that they need to know too?"

"Guess we'll have to ask her ourselves." Bates frowned at his details, "I think Friday made this."

"Why'd you say that?" Anna looked up from hers.

"Mr. Bernhard is divorced."

"Oh?" Anna laughed at hers, "She did. You apparently hired me out of University. That's lovely but foolish. I wouldn't have the experience."

"How'd she justify it?"

"Said I was born into an international family and you hired me for my language skills, not my business prowess… and because there's a suggestion I'm secretly your mistress."

"No one will believe that."

Anna snorted, "Businessman who chose an inexperienced girl as his translator… I think Mr. Bernhard was looking a little too closely at the length of Ms. Garcia's skirt instead of her qualifications and references."

"Be that as it may," Bates gathered his things and stood. "I think we need to go and dissect these people elsewhere."

Anna grinned at him, "The settee in my flat is more comfortable than these chairs."

"I know how comfortable it is." Bates grinned back, "But I think we need to focus on knowing who we are."

"We've got a ten hour ride to Vienna from Bern for that."

"We've got to be them before then, Ms. Garcia." Bates held out a hand, "I'll walk you back to your desk."

"You're no fun." Anna took his hand and followed him out of the room.

"I am too fun."

"No, Mr. Bernhard is a stuffy old businessman."

"Maybe Ms. Garcia has too much Latin in her blood for her own good." Bates growled but Anna only smirked.

"Not possible."

They wound through the hallways to Anna's tiny office. She entered, putting the files on her desk but turned when she heard the door lock. As she pivoted Bates was on her kissing, holding her cheek and neck to control the force of his passion.

Anna immediately wrapped her arms around him, moaning into his mouth as he lifted her off her feet to sit her on the desk. Her fingers clung to his collar when his tongue ran over her lip before thrusting into her mouth. She tilted her head slightly sideways to feel more of him.

A moment later Bates broke the kiss, breathing heavily. "Bugs."

"What?" Anna tried to focus but she was breathing harder than she could think.

"Friday's listening devices."

"Then we give her something to listen to." Anna pulled Bates back to her.

He followed her instructions and reached back to start unzipping Anna's skirt. She risked her hands away from him to lift herself off the edge of the desk so he could pull it down her legs with her stockings and her knickers in one smooth movement. He draped them over her chair and turned back to her.

Anna tried to wrap her legs around him but Bates shook his head. He leaned over, taking her mouth while his hands started at her shoulders and then smoothed down her arms, still trapped in her shirt. The heat from his hands permeated through the thin material and Anna shivered with it, sucking on his tongue in time with the tickle of his fingers under the edge of her shirt.

He popped the few buttons before helping her lift the material over her head. His hands wrapped over her back as Anna unlatched her bra and flung it behind her. The moment his hands were on her breasts Anna could do nothing but sigh. When his kisses moved from her mouth to her body she let him lean her back to lay on her desk. Sufficiently spread before him, Anna practically hummed.

Tangling her hands in his hair, Anna guided Bates through his careful ministrations. He left no bit of skin unloved, unlicked, or unlaved as he kissed his way over her breasts. His persistent tongue left her shivering in anticipation and when he sucked her nipples in his mouth to nip at her Anna almost screamed.

But he so occupied her with the work of his mouth she forgot about his hands until he traced his fingers over her folds. Anna instinctively opened her legs wider and he drew invisible patterns over her thighs and hips in time with his lips on her skin. She guessed he used one of his legs to bring the only other chair in the room over to the desk so he could sit when she heard the wooden legs drag over the floor. A moment later she could not care less if he was sitting or standing when he ran his teeth over her folds.

Bates worked his fingers into her, teasing and tickling her folds with his educated proficiency, while dipping to taste her with his tongue. The tucks and bends of his mouth only drew her higher and higher, winding her up as her back arched off the desk. His determined strokes in time with his artistic fingers sent her shouting out to the ceiling. Anna felt the desk vibrating beneath her but could only guess she was the one vibrating in time to the press of her hips through the last of her spasms while Bates sucked every last drop from her.

She tried to sit up, using her elbows, but her body was almost too lost to pleasure to allow her to. Through the haze of sated satisfaction she saw Bates strip himself to match her before drawing her off the desk. Some of her things fell to the floor but she was too lost in him to care. His mouth moved to hers and Anna summoned the strength she needed to hold him to her, moving her body on his like a cat in heat.

A moment later he spun her around, holding her back to his chest as he kissed her neck. "Do you think Mr. Bernhard took advantage of Ms. Garcia?"

"That depends," Anna groaned as he bit down her neck to suck on her shoulder. "Did they start sneaking around when Mr. Bernhard was married?"

"He truly hated his wife and she was horrible." His hands roamed her, tracing the lines he made earlier while bringing her own wet heat upward to draw shining patterns on her glowing skin.

"Then no." Anna reached a hand up, caressing down his cheek, "I think she gave herself to him."

"Are they in love?"

"They might be."

"If not?" He pushed her slightly forward and Anna felt the desk hit her just below her hips but her eyes were closed to better feel him around her and she did not care.

"Then she surrendered to him because she wanted him."

Bates put a hand to Anna's back and bent her over the desk, kissing a line down her back while his leg moved hers apart. "Did she like it? What he gave her."

"Enough to keep coming back to him." Anna glanced back over her shoulder, "We don't have all day, Mr. Bernhard."

Bates drove into her hard enough to send the desk scooting toward the back wall. Anna reached her arms forward, grabbing the edge of the desk in her grip, and met his thrusts with presses of her hips. His hands traced over her ass, handling it like a delicate gift before driving himself as deep inside her as he could go.

"He loves her."

Anna could only nod, trying to breathe with her chest pressed to her desk and her feet going up on tiptoe with every plunge inside of her. Her muscles tried to hold him, constricting around his pulsing heat but he always slid free. The muscles relaxed only to have him enter her again. His fingers fumbling between her and the desk went back to her center, pressing there.

"He could never feel this way anywhere else. With anyone else. With as deep as he goes inside her, with how he slips in her wet heat, with how she looks reaching her peak, with what he sees when she's impaled on him," Bates drew out longer than he had before, ramming back into her and sending Anna moaning into her desk. "He couldn't help but love her."

Bates leaned over her back, pausing for a moment. Anna could feel him quivering inside her. She moved to see his face and kissed him. "She loves him."

A definitive press to her nerves and Anna fell over the edge again. Bates let his control slip behind her, rutting as fast and hard as he could until he broke. His weight rested on hers for only a moment before pulling them both back into the chair he commandeered to eat her out.

Anna draped her head back on his shoulder, her chest stuttering to fill as her heart sent her blood thundering through her body. After a moment she laughed to herself. Bates placed a kiss on her neck before turning her head to face him, "What?"

"I wish I could see Friday's face right now."

"Probably as red as yours."

"For a different reason." Anna faced her husband. "It'll be different this time."

"We're together this time."

"We're like we were at the Celsior except, if we fail, we're on our own."

"No," Bates intertwined their fingers, "We've each other and though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death… or through a ballroom full of Nazis, I will fear no evil."

He kissed her knuckles and Anna snorted at him, "You're a terrible blasphemer, Mr. Bernhard."

"I thought Christian belief encouraged the use of scripture in personal application."

"That reference is to God."

"Then I hope He walks with us too." Bates kissed at her nose, "But I'll settle for you if He just happens to be busy."

* * *

Bates cracked his neck as the light glowed red. He and Anna stood, each checking the other's straps while the pilot held up a hand. When it clenched to a fist Bates pulled the door back.

The blast of wind that hit them almost sent him falling back but he kept his grip on the door. Anna reached up, clipping her lead on the line and nodded to Bates. He did the same and gave a thumbs-up to the pilot. The pilot waited a moment then waved his hand. Anna jumped first, tucking her arms to her body and pointing her legs downward. Bates heaved a breath and followed.

The rush in his ears and the speed of descent almost distracted him but the slight glint of white below caught his eye. Bates aimed for it, catching Anna's outstretched hand. They both reached across to one another and clipped their leads to the other's belt before yanking their cords. The jerk of the parachute release grabbed under Bates's armpits and his teeth clacked together with the strength of the wind filling the parachute.

For a moment he feared their lead ropes might snap with the effort but they held and they descended to the ground together. Anna clipped her parachute within three feet of the ground and Bates did the same. They rolled away from the scene, tumbling in the dark, but after a quick assessment they stood.

Bates gathered both parachutes, rolling them into a mess before stuffing them into his empty bag. Anna pulled out a small flashlight and pointed it to a map. Checking her compass she made a note before folding both compass and map back into a pocket of her jumpsuit.

"We've got a bit of a hike."

"Didn't expect anything less."

They tramped in the dark, using the moon as much as they could and only risking Anna's light for stretches of intense underbrush. Within the hour they arrived at the edge of town and saw a car on the side of the road. A man leaned against it, occasionally tapping out a beat on the side as he hummed to himself. Bates smiled to himself.

"Trust Thursday to sing the _Currah of Kildare_ to himself."

"Summer has come Mr. Bernhard."

They broke from the undergrowth and Bates whistled the next line of the song. Branson looked up and opened the backdoor quickly. Bates and Anna hurried inside, ducking below the windows to sit with their feet on the seat and backs to the seats in front. Branson took the wheel and drove away slowly, careful to make minimal noise.

They reached their safe house without incident. Branson parked in an alley, hustling them inside the building and up a back flight of stairs before knocking four beats on a door. Someone from the inside opened it and Bates let Anna go ahead of him.

A two, a man and woman, sat inside listening to a wireless. They nodded at Bates, Anna, and Branson. Bates himself had to do a bit of a double take when, from a distance, it looked like he and Anna were sitting on the other side of the room. Branson waved to them before leading Bates and Anna to a hidden stair behind a cabinet. When it shut behind them all they could hear was the hum of the wireless in French. Bates kept careful watch of his step on the rickety stairs but they finally ascended to the attic without incident.

Branson let out a breath before checking the room. Satisfied they could speak he waved them over to a circle of camp cots and Bates sat down across from Branson with Anna next to him.

"What's the news?" Anna started and Branson shrugged.

"So far no one suspects a thing. Our people here seem confident about the covers they created for you and even overheard some of the Germans talking about how excited they are to have a Swiss business. They think it could help them stamp out any British resistance and maybe give them a way to beat back American aid."

"Then we're still a go?"

"Yes," Branson took Bates's bag with the used parachutes, "Your things are already packed and ready. We rented this apartment a month ago and the two people downstairs match your general appearance so anyone looking more closely than usual won't be suspicious when the two of you leave your apartment tomorrow to catch the train to Vienna."

"Good." Bates turned to Anna, "We'd better get some sleep then."

"Agreed." Anna smiled at Branson, "You did a good job here."

"Thank you." He waved a hand, "If it proves to Admiral Crawley I can do this job then it's good enough for me."

"Tired of being just a driver, Thursday?" Bates stood, unzipping his suit and pulling his arms from the sleeves.

"No. Just looking for more. And tomorrow I'm your driver again. I've been acting the driver to the fake Mr. Bernhard for the last few weeks. I drive him from the house to the office and back. Occasionally to the apartment we gave Ms. Garcia," Branson winked at Anna as she pulled her legs out of the suit. "But last night they would've seen the two of you come here together."

"Did they get a show?"

"They're s a married couple, if that answers your question." Branson stood, "I'll be around in the morning. It'll be a quick breakfast and then to the station. Mr. Bernhard isn't one known for being late."

"Noted." Bates nodded and Branson held up the bag.

"Good luck to you. I'd say it tomorrow but Mr. Bernhard doesn't talk to his subordinates like that."

"Well, for the moment I'm not that Mr. Bernhard, thank you Thursday."

He waved to them before descending the stairs. Bates looked at Anna before pulling two of the camp beds together. They wrapped in blankets, shivering slightly in the cold of the room as they snuggled close. Bates wrapped his arms around Anna and kissed her forehead.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?"

She cuddled closer to him, "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Goodnight then, Ms. Garcia."

"Goodnight Mr. Bernhard."


	14. Capture

Anna stretched her neck and massaged it, blinking away the sleep from her eyes. She heard Bates snort from the other side of the carriage and she scowled at him. "Something you want to say, Mr. Bernhard?"

"You slept most of the trip Ms. Garcia. Are you truly so tired?"

"I get lulled by the consistent movement." She stood, tipping her head to see out the window, "And we're slowing."

"So we are." Bates folded the paper he was reading, "Welcome to Vienna."

"I always wanted to visit." Anna sat back down, "Timing never worked out and then war took over Europe."

"But you get to see it now," Bates pointed to the window, "What do you think?"

"I think I should like to see it when the fog of war is swept off Europe." Anna's eyes flicked toward the door and then motioned with a tiny jerk of her head for Bates to turn.

Two men in uniform stood at the door staring in at them. Bates stood, setting the paper on the seat next to him, and pulled the carriage door open. Anna listened to the sounds of German, biting the inside of her cheek as all she tried to understand came from tone and body language. The younger of the officers kept sneaking glances at Anna but she let it slide, focusing on the older of the two. The man seemed very interested in Bates's passport but eventually nodded and stepped back.

Bates smiled at them and sat back down, the hissing of the engine as they pulled toward the station covering his sigh of relief, "That could have been worse."

"What'd they want?"

"To make sure we had our directions." Bates slid the passport back into his coat pocket, "They knew everything about us."

"The younger one seemed a little leery of me." Anna shifted on the seat, leaning forward slightly, "What'd they say?"

"Checking that we knew where we were going and that we'd been invited to that gala." Bates put a hand on hers, "I think we're to be guests of some honor for this. Or at least objects of fascination."

Anna covered his hands with hers and snuck a kiss to his knuckles, "I can't wait to have all the attention on us."

They disembarked on the platform, both holding small cases filled with their clothes for the trip. Anna lifted hers a moment, pretending to fiddle with the latch, and noted her case had been opened. She let it fall, nodding at Bates. He returned the gesture before pointing to a line of cabs outside the station.

Anna paused, as if choosing the car they wanted was of the utmost importance. She squinted in the light and noted the driver with a red tie around his neck. Nudging Bates in the right direction he led them down to the road. Speaking quickly with the man they appeared to haggle over price before the man grunted and took their cases to the front of the car. Bates opened the suicide door for Anna to crawl into the rear with him.

They rested back against the seat, the man pulling the car into traffic and driving through the streets toward their hotel, the same one hosting the gala in three days. Anna let her eyes flick toward the back window and noted a car following them through three turns. She tapped twice on the back window and the man altered his route slightly.

A few moments later Anna could no longer see the car and knocked on the window. The man reached forward and fiddled with something before passing a package back over the seat. Anna took it and ripped the paper aside, pulling out a small file. She handed this to Bates before extracting the gun at the bottom of the package.

"Seems our team wants a window escape." Bates flipped through the file, skimming quickly. "I thought we were using the front door."

"They doubled their door guard after French Resistance decided they needed to take a car through the door of a German building." The man spit out the window, "They ruined everything."

"What's the distance from one building to the next?" Anna leaned over, giving the schematics a quick view before she went back to her task, pulling the magazine from the gun and checking it over before reloading and placing it in the hidden compartment of her handbag.

"We could make it from the third floor."

"They're holding O'Brien on the fourth."

"Then we'll have to manage the stairs." Bates turned a page, "They do have a service elevator for the staff. Just a dumbwaiter but it might do."

"I don't trust those." Anna shook her head, "I once ended up down in the basement, buried in laundry."

"Don't use it." The man's accented English came from the front of the cab again. "All the workers the night of the gala are loyalists. They'll have spies and guns."

"Stairs it is." Bates agreed and handed the file back. "When are we meeting with the rest of the team?"

"That was it." The cab pulled to a stop in front of their hotel, "It's too dangerous to do more."

"We were told we'd have three days to plan."

"And we didn't think they'd change the date of the gala to tomorrow night but with the war moving as it is they're anxious to get potential targets clear. If they could've, they'd have cancelled this one." The man leaned over the back seat and Bates reached for his wallet to pay him, "The only reason they're hosting it is because they're revealing information they don't want passed over communications they think we're tapping."

"What kind of information?" Anna arranged her handbag but the man only shrugged.

"If we knew we wouldn't be going to all this trouble." He left the car to get their bags as a valet for the hotel hurried to open the cab door.

Bates stepped out first, giving Anna a hand. When she stood on the pavement a soldier approached them. He smiled a little too broadly for Anna's liking but she shook the offered hand. He started speaking in German but she shook her head, pointing to Bates.

The man turned to Bates and repeated what he tried to tell Anna. They exchanged a few words and then a laugh before the man turned back to Anna. His accented English was good and, if Anna had to guess, this man studied abroad before the war.

"Apologies, I was told Mr. Bernhard had a translator. I assumed he needed one to speak German for him."

"Unfortunately no," Anna kept her Spanish accent as careful as possible, "I do not speak German."

"But you speak other things?"

"English, obviously." Anna and the soldier laughed but she caught the sight of Bates stiffening next to her out of the corner of her eye. "I also translate for French."

"Must be so useful for a businessman as popular as your Mr. Bernhard here."

"I try to be useful." Anna felt Bates run a finger down her arm and watched the soldier's eyes go from Bates to her, as if trying to understand the innuendo to the motion.

When his eyes narrowed Anna knew he understood but did not like his conclusion. "And is he useful in return?"

"I don't understand the question." Anna faked a light laugh, knowing exactly what the soldier implied.

The soldier switched the French, "Does he provide for all your needs? He might be too old for someone as young as you."

"He's more than enough for me."

"Perhaps you need more."

"I'm content."

The soldier snorted, returning to English, "But he does not teach you German. How do you survive in Switzerland or here in Vienna?"

"We manage." Bates bit out, his fingers tightening to fists. Anna covered his hand with hers, rubbing over his hand.

"That's my fault," Anna twiddled her hand in the air, "I've no ear for German and my other languages leave no room in my head for it."

"Well," The soldier took a step toward Anna, leering at her, "If your companion here fails at teaching you German perhaps you should think about someone else instructing you. It might take a different kind of stimulation."

"I don't think another teacher would help."

"But have you tried?"

Bates stepped in, "Ms. Garcia is exhausted from our journey and we've much to do before tomorrow night."

"I see," The soldier clicked his heels together, "Until tomorrow night Ms. Garcia. I hope you're far more rested. It could be rather strenuous."

He marched away and Anna clenched her jaw, grabbing the sleeve of Bates's coat. He turned back to her and Anna spoke through her teeth to Bates, "I want to put a bullet in that man."

Bates watched the man go before putting his hand on hers, "That might be unwise at this moment darling."

"Why's that? He's disgusting."

"We're supposed to be blending."

"I could claim self defense." Anna weaved her arm through Bates's as they walked up the stairs to the lobby of the hotel.

"I don't think the distance would help your argument."

The valet took them straight to their room, handing them a key. Bates unlocked the door and turned to tip the valet as Anna pushed inside. She pulled a small device from her handbag and flipped the switch, risking a look to see Bates occupying the valet with details on the tip and their cases.

Running the device over the room Anna noted where the sensor whirred and clicked it off as the valet placed their cases at the foot of the beds. She smiled at him before he left, leaving only she and Bates. They counted ten before Anna pointed to the spots her sensor indicated. Bates went to each of the lights and flicked them off to note the listening devices before turning them back on to light the room.

Anna sighed, flipping the latches on her case. Reaching into the top she ripped the lining clear and tossed Bates a number of smaller devices. He placed one next to each of the listening devices before giving her a nod. Anna grabbed her sensor, flipped a switch on the back, and then turned it on again.

"Now all they're hear is inane chatter."

"Like white noise?" Bates checked the beds before switching his case with Anna's.

"Similar. It'll be like we're talking but farther away." Anna dug through her clothes to pull out the gala dress and hang it next to Bates's suit as he put the pieces of it in the closet. "When they come in to check them tomorrow they'll find the dampers."

"But we'll be long gone." Bates sighed, "It's too bad. I wanted to keep the suit."

"We'll get you another tuxedo in London." Anna kissed his cheek, "Though the thought of seeing you in it really makes me wish we'd waited to get married in a church so I could ogle you down the aisle."

"Is that so?" Bates grabbed around her waist, swaying with her, "And what else would you ogle?"

"Nothing I can't get a hold of right now." Anna pulled at his belt, "But we've got to take our tour of the hotel this evening so that'll have to wait."

Bates pouted but pulled his pajamas out of his bag, "Does that mean no shared bath?"

"I'd never say no to water conservation." Anna giggled and walked to the en suite, "Unless you're too tired."

She shrieked with laughter as Bates chased her into the bathroom.

* * *

Bates checked his tie in the mirror before shrugging. "It'll do."

"I'll say." Anna leaned against the door to the bathroom and Bates felt his jaw drop to the floor. "What about me? Will I do?"

She did a little turn in her silver dress and Bates had to bite his tongue at the sight of her. He walked over to her, sculpting down her sides before kissing her cheek. "If we weren't trying to save the world, I'd take you against this wall."

"Sounds like old times." Anna winked at him and ducked under his arm for her clutch. "But you're right, priorities."

Bates checked the lining inside his trousers for his weapon as Anna pulled the small gun free, examining it again before slipping it back into her clutch. She looked around the room, sighing. "It was such a lovely room."

"They gave us separate beds." Bates walked to the door, holding it open for her, "I wanted one with a shared mattress."

"Appearances, Mr. Bernhard." Anna slipped easily into her Spanish accented English, "We're professionals here."

"Must we be?" He trilled, German inflection in his voice, "I should think it's time we stop playing with one another Ms. Garcia."

"I thought you liked my playing." Anna grinned at him and Bates swallowed, trying to keep a hold of himself. "Come, or we'll be late."

Bates linked her hand on the crook of his elbow and they made for the stairs. They descended the grand staircase into the ballroom and Bates immediately saw the soldier who flirted earlier with Anna. He bristled slightly and leaned toward Anna.

"You never did tell me what that repugnant man said to you in French yesterday."

"Didn't I?" Anna caught sight him and Bates watched a blush come to her cheeks but he knew the difference between the blush she had with him and the one that signaled the spitfire emerging. "He proposed he could make me happier than you."

"Physically?"

"It was implied." Anna put on her best fake smile as the man approached, "So you did come after all."

"I couldn't miss a chance to dance with the most beautiful woman in the room."

"Has everyone arrived so you can make an honest judgment on that?" Anna stepped imperceptibly closer to Bates. "I don't see many ladies here. Perhaps you just need to wait a moment longer to see someone more beautiful than myself."

"I doubt that day will come." He took her hand, forcing a kiss on it before looking at Bates. "You don't mind me stealing your companion for a dance do you, Mr. Bernhard?"

"She chooses her partners for herself."

"Then you don't have her very well trained do you?" The soldier pulled on Anna's arm and she went with him. "I promise to return her better than I found her."

"But can she say the same for you?" Bates hid the smirk at the man's confusion.

They drifted away and Bates took up position on the edge of the floor. Making as if he wanted to sample all the hors d'oeuvres, Bates took a stroll around the room. He saw Anna, her smile strained as she danced, and buried his urge to throw the man dancing with her to the floor. Bates honed his focus to the room, noting the positions of all the armed soldiers in the room.

As the dance finished Bates cut in, taking Anna's free hand in his. She spun towards him, making it seem like a friendly exchange of partners, and smile back at the other man. "Thank you again, Captain. The dance was as I expected."

"The best you'd ever had?"

"Traditional." Anna followed Bates's lead across the floor as the live band started a waltz.

Bates kept his eye on the floor and the soldiers now simmering on the sidelines. "I think he'll try for another dance."

"He's not going to get one." Anna glanced over Bates's shoulder. "When that couple comes closer I think we could break for the rear exit and make it up the back stairs unnoticed."

"Fourth floor?"

"It was the most heavily guarded." Anna counted under her breath, "Now!"

Bates spun Anna out and they wove between two couples. Using the other dancers as cover they managed to avoid the searching gaze of the captain and ducked to the rear exit as if they were sneaking off to snog in a corner. Anna pulled Bates by the lapels into a corner and put her hands to his face.

"Kiss me."

"Tell me when."

Anna's eyes darted to the side, "Now."

Bates took her lips, trusting in Anna's hands at his lapels. She pulled him closer a second and then tugged just slightly to the left. Bates broke the kiss and brought his left elbow into the gut of the guard. He bent double and Bates smashed his elbow into the back of the man's neck.

He fell to the floor and Bates bent down, grabbing his gun and fitting it into the waistband of his trousers under his coat. Anna pointed to the stairs and they started climbing, Anna removing her shoes before they ascended. Bates led out, taking the stairs two at a time, and hit the door to the fourth floor.

The guard there raised his weapon but Bates cut the blade of his hand to the man's throat. He gagged and fell to his knees where Bates punched him with a right hook. The man fell back, sprawled on the floor without a sound.

"Nice form Mr. Bernhard." Anna put her hand on the door latch, "Go."

Bates darted into the hall, Anna close behind him. They saw the guards at the door down the hall, pacing in opposite directions, and Bates put an arm over Anna to push them both back to the wall. When the guard at their end came closer Bates lunged out and grabbed the man around the neck, tightening his hold. The guard struggled, his legs kicking but Bates pulled tighter and snapped his shoulder up. Legs stopped kicking and Bates dropped the body to the floor.

Nodding to Anna, she put her shoes back on and they walked down the hall together, swaying slightly for effect. The guard raised his gun but Bates put on a ridiculous laugh as Anna giggled. Anna worked out from Bates's arm and tapped on the guard's shoulder.

"Do you know where our room is?"

The guard frowned, shaking his head and looking at Bates. Bates laughed and spoke to the guard in German. "She wants to know if you know where our room is."

"No," The guard shook his head, gesturing with his gun down the hall, "This floor is off limits."

"But our room's here somewhere," Bates insisted by the man pushed him back. "Easy now, we're just lost."

"Maybe he wants to join." Anna suggested, working an arm over the guard's shoulder. "Would you like to have fun with us?"

The guard stumbled away and Bates translated for Anna. His eyes grew wide as he looked between the two of them. But then his fingers loosened slightly on his gun and he spoke to Bates. "I don't want her."

"That's fine," Bates held up his hands as Anna worked to the side of the guard. "But what do you want?"

The guard mumbled and Bates put a hand to his ear, "Didn't catch that."

"You." The guard pointed with his gun at Bates, "I'd take you."

"Oh?" Bates made a surprised face as Anna looped the garrote over the guard's throat. She pulled tight and twisted as the man scrabbled his fingers over the wire. Anna worked her arm up as Bates took the gun away and with a snap the man stopped moving.

"Never had a bloke want me before." They searched the body and Bates checked the gun before tossing it aside.

"Didn't think you were attractive enough?" Anna teased, moving the body back to the stairwell, leaving her shoes on top of the three they piled there.

"Didn't think about it." Bates tested the door, "I could break it down but then we'd tell everyone where we were."

"They find that body four floors down they'll know." Anna worked her fingers into her hair, pulling out a series of small tools. "Guard the hallway dear."

Bates pulled his gun free as Anna bent next to the lock, working her picks into the tumblers. He listened carefully over the soft sounds of metal scraping metal in succession until he heard the lock click. Bates turned back to the door as Anna worked the tools back into her hair to act as the pins holding it in place. He pushed the door open and stepped in first, holding his gun at the ready.

There were no guards inside, only a woman with a pinched face tied to a chair near the window. Bates shoved his gun back into his trousers and slipped his knife free, sawing at the knots holding the woman in place. "Officer O'Brien I presume?"

"Who wants to know?" The woman snarled but Bates ignored it, freeing her ankles and then her wrists.

"We're agents from Naval Intelligence and we're here to help."

"Prove it."

"Admiral Crawley sends his regards," Anna entered the room, "Nice seeing you again O'Brien."

"Can't say the same Ms. Monday."

Anna sighed, "I really can't either but I was trying to be polite." She stopped and Bates paused when he heard yelling from below. "We need to get going."

The last rope snapped and Bates helped O'Brien stand, "Ladies first."

They filed into the hall and Anna led them to the stairs at the end of the hall. She opened the door and Bates took the lead down the stairs to the level below them, gun in hand and knife in the other. He had them stop at the bottom, listening closely. With a finger to his lips he handed the gun to O'Brien as Anna pulled her own weapon free.

Exiting the door on the third floor Bates grabbed the barrel of gun directed at him. He ducked under it, jerking the soldier forward. Bates looped behind the soldier, holding him in a reverse headlock and lifted up to snap the man's neck. He dropped to the floor and Bates ushered the women out, following them to the marked room.

He kicked open the door and checked the window. "This one."

Anna reached into the closet and pulled out a harpoon gun as Bates closed the door, barricading it with the end table there. "That won't hold anyone long."

"Long enough." Anna took aim through the windows as Bates moved across the room to throw them open.. They snapped against the wall but Anna kept her focus on the distance between the two buildings. With a snap she fired the harpoon and it buried itself in the lintel above the far window.

She passed the gun to Bates and he pulled the rope back to tie to the nearest bedpost on the heavy bed. He passed a hanger to Anna and one to O'Brien. "Ladies first."

"Always a gentleman?" O'Brien stepped forward and placed her hanger over the rope while stepping onto the ledge of the window.

"I try." Bates pushed her forward and O'Brien sailed across the distance, using her feet together to push the windows open on the other side.

She dropped in and signaled. Bates helped Anna onto the ledge, "You're next."

Anna kissed him, "Don't take too long."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Bates winked and pushed her forward.

Anna flew between the buildings, landing in a roll on the other side. She turned back to Bates, motioning for him to join them. Bates went to grab the line when a shot rang out. He ducked down, looking back toward the door and saw the bullet hole there. Someone pressed against the door before a hailstorm of fire rang out, sending slivers of wood spitting into the room.

Craning over the side of the window Bates saw Anna and O'Brien waiting. He stood, taking the rope in his hand and put the blade of his knife to it. The door broke open and he met Anna's eyes as he shook his head at her. With a snap he cut the line and it fluttered out the window.

Even from a distance he could see Anna's eyes widen. She might have screamed if not for O'Brien grabbing her arm and latching a hand over her mouth. Anna fought her, trying to climb back out the window but O'Brien tugged her back.

Bates put his arms over his head, still staring at his wife, and felt something kick him in the back of the knee. He watched O'Brien and Anna vanish into the other building as arms grabbed his and bent them to the point where Bates grimaced. Through the pain he still smiled until something heavy hit him in the back of the head. He fell forward, unconscious before he hit the ground.


	15. Rescue

Anna wiped at her eyes, reaching into the basin to splash water onto her face. The door to the women's lavatory opened but Anna did not look up to see who entered. She gripped the edge of the sink and tried to suppress the sobs threatening to take over her body.

"The Admiral got news that a suspected British agent was taken to Berlin yesterday from Vienna." Anna looked up to see Mary through the mirror, leaning on a stall. "They want to try him for the deaths of four soldiers at a little gala they held there. After they try to get as much information out of him as they can… of course."

Anna sniffed, wiping her hands. "Here to rub it in?"

"Rub it in?"

"That I made a horrible decision and shouldn't have gotten married at the spur of the moment?"

"No," Mary pulled a small bottle from behind her back, "Here to commiserate."

"I don't need whiskey."

"Everyone needs whiskey." Mary popped the cap and offered it to Anna but she pushed it away. "Suit yourself."

"What did O'Brien have to say?"

"She confirmed all the suspicions about troop movements. There are parts of France we need to abandon but she's given some hope to Command about their response, especially now that the Americans are involved."

"Hip bloody hooray for that." Anna sniffed, "The Yanks are coming."

"So they are." Mary took a sip, "You and Mr. Bernhard will receive commendations for the rescue. It provided us with invaluable intelligence."

"At the cost of Mr. Bernhard."

"That's the price we pay in war, Monday."

"I don't accept that. I don't accept that we'll just abandon him." Anna took a deep breath, "I need to speak to the Admiral."

Mary held the whiskey in her mouth a moment before swallowing, "Why?"

"I need him to authorize a rescue mission."

"He'll never do it," Mary pulled another swig, "He won't risk sending any agents into Berlin, even if he thought he could get someone out."

"But I can rescue him Friday."

"Sure you could rescue him, the potential is there. But you also _could_ get yourself killed and that's the end goal the Admiral wants to avoid."

"I can't leave him to be tortured and die, Friday."

"No, you can't." Mary screwed the cap back on, "Which is why you're not rescuing him alone."

"What?"

"I've got Thursday all set in Switzerland to helps us and Tuesday, the git that he is, wants in on the action." Mary held out a hand to Anna, "Do you want us to help you rescue your husband?"

"You're having me on."

"I am?"

"You'd never go against your father, it's not in your nature."

"It's more about asking for forgiveness when we get Bernhard back here than asking for permission to rescue him in the first place."

Anna put a hand on Mary's arm, "Why would you help?"

"Because," Mary sighed, "I don't want you to live with the loss that I do. I couldn't bear that for you."

"Mary." Anna breathed and reached to take Mary into a hug but the other woman backed away.

"I don't need your pity. I'm stating fact, not looking for sympathy tears."

"It's not pity, you tosser," Anna sighed, "It's gratitude. More than I can express with words."

"Well," Mary put a hand up to stop Anna coming closer, "Why don't we just leave it at words for now yeah? I can take those."

Anna lifted her arms in surrender, "Fine, what's the plan?"

"Tuesday's got himself a buddy in the RAF who'll take us in a plane. We'll land Bern and rendezvous with Thursday. He's got the connections to get us to Munich and then Prague before we slip north to Berlin."

"That's a bit roundabout."

"It'll hide our true intentions. No one's going to think twice about a trio of agents arriving in Bern then wending their way around Germany. We're coming at this by surprise."

"It'll take too long, Friday. Mr. Bernhard may not have that kind of time."

"If I know anything about the pain doctors they employ, and I do," Mary shuddered, "Mr. Bernhard'll hold out."

"You're banking that they'll want his information more than they want him dead."

"The Germans've waged most of this war by having better information, keeping it from us, and then spreading it under our nose. They'll risk the time it'll take to break him over actually having to kill a potential asset."

"Then how are we getting from Bern to Munich to-"

"Train to Munich, truck to Prague, and a car to Dresden before we get on the train to Berlin."

"I don't speak German, Friday."

"But you do speak French and Thursday can manage enough Czech to get us through Prague. Tuesday and I speak German enough to make it passable." Mary shrugged, "We can do this you know. It's possible."

"I know," Anna took a steadying breath, "I just- I can't imagine what might be- What they could be doing to him."

"I'm not Mr. Bernhard's biggest fan, Monday, but I trust that he's not the kind to give up easily." Mary took a breath, "Who knows, he might escape before we even need to get there to rescue him."

"I hope that's true."

* * *

Bates blinked as they took the bag from his head. He coughed, nodding at the material, "I hope I was the first person to use that. Could use a clean."

Someone's fist hit his cheekbone, sending Bates's head sideways. He coughed again, trying to shake off the pain. He shifted in the chair, feeling the knots keeping his hands behind him on the chair. For a minute Bates smiled to himself, remembering when Anna tied him to the chair in his kitchen.

"Something funny?"

Bates squinted past the light shining in his face but could see no one. "Maybe. Not sure I should share those details in mixed company."

"Oh?" The voice drew closer and Bates felt that he had heard it before. "Should I dismiss Rudolph here so we can have a private chat?"

"No," Bates shook his head, "He might get off on it and I'd never deny a fellow a chance to release. Probably tired of bending over for yourself."

Another blow across the face and Bates felt blood trickling from his brow. He scrunched his face, tipping sideways a minute to keep it from his eye. Bates turned up to the man standing over him. "Sensitive about the services you give him?"

The shadowed man growled as Bates spit blood from his mouth after Rudolph split his lip. "I'll have straight answers from you Mr. Bernhard."

"I'm straight as they come." Bates spit a little more, smiling to himself, "Just ask my wife."

"Do you think this is a game?"

"If it is I'm winning." Bates rolled his shoulders back and tried to adjust in the chair. "I like winning so I'll probably keep playing."

"Do you think you'll be given the chance?"

"Well," Bates sniffed, "You captured me and now poor Rudolph is trying to beat answers out of me but you haven't asked me any questions. That means you're trying to prove something but you've got nothing to show for all the effort."

"And that makes you the winner here?"

"The worst you can do is kill me."

"Or we could torture that woman, Ms. Garcia." The man came into view and Bates recognized the Captain from the gala. "She did not get far after you helped her and the spy into the other building."

"If you had her, you would've led with that." Bates sighed, "Is this your first time? Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."

Bates rocked back in his chair with the next punch. The Captain grabbed him, forcing Bates to look at him. "Listen to me, if you don't tell me who you are, which government works you, and where you took O'Brien, I'm going to leave you in more pain than you can possibly imagine and then I'll kill you."

"But see, you won't get any answers from me if you kill me. Unfortunately for you, I won't talk anyway so I leave that up to you."

The Captain released Bates and turned to Rudolph, "Take him to his hole. Give him some time without food and he might change his tune."

"Don't hold your breath." Bates rose with Rudolph's hands under his arms, "I've been through worse than you."

* * *

Anna shook her head, "This'll never work."

"We've got to get a train to Berlin and this is the rail yard." Mary thrust her hand at the fence, "This is what we have to work with if you want to save Mr. Bernhard. If you changed your mind then you should've said something in Prague."

"I didn't change my mind. I'm just wondering why we couldn't use our passes to board a train like normal people."

"They'd never pass increased inspections." Branson hissed, "They'd execute us. Or take us where Bernhard is being held and lock us up too."

"Save us the trouble of infiltrating the place." Talbot joked before Mary punched him in the arm. "Ow."

"Shut up, all of you." Mary pointed to the guard, "All we need to do is get by him and we can easily woo someone that young and jittery."

"You're telling me the best we can manage is a seduction?" Anna turned to Mary, "I'm not doing it."

"Of course not," Mary dusted at her borrowed uniform, "I am."

Anna hunkered down with Talbot and Branson as Mary approached the man. She spoke to him, easing the man's gun down as Talbot tapped Anna's arm. Anna turned to him as he leaned by her ear.

"I hope you don't mind the potential hard truth here but have you thought-"

"That he's already dead or given us up?" Anna faced Talbot, "I'm not an idiot so yes, it's crossed my mind more than once."

"Then why do you still think he's waiting for us in Berlin?"

"Because we're all the way in Dresden and with a short train ride we're in Berlin. Any thinking to the negative'll just disrupt us."

"Monday," Talbot tapped the ground, moving his jaw a little like he wanted to feel around all the words before he chose one, "Is there something more between you and Mr. Bernhard?"

"Like what?"

"Like something real?"

Anna went to answer before she heard a thud and saw Mary standing over the body of the soldier. She motioned for them and the three broke the tree line. They crawled under the fence and sprinted for one of the trains. Talbot pointed to the one they wanted, already puffing and gaining speed.

Talbot, with his long stride, caught the side. He put a hand back to grab Mary, swinging her onto the train. Another hand to hand, aided by Branson, got Anna safely on board. She looked back to see Branson leap for the edge and Talbot pull him aboard. They snuck through the supply car and found corners to hide in with Branson and Mary in the one closest to the next car's door and Talbot hidden near the side with Anna.

Anna tried to slow her breathing, getting her bearings in the car as Talbot cleared his throat. She glanced toward him, "What?"

"My question still stands, Monday."

Anna sighed, "Yes, there is something between Mr. Bernhard and I."

"What?"

Anna dug into her uniform and pulled out the ring on a chain, "Marriage, Tuesday."

He gaped at her as she tucked the chain back inside her clothing. "You married him? What about regulation?"

"What about it?"

"You're not supposed to engage in romantic relations with a superior officer."

"Then it's a good thing I'm a civilian." Anna hushed him, "And it's too late to take it back now. We've been married since before Vienna."

"I thought you were shagging him to deal with stress."

"It was never just that." Anna settled back into a more comfortable position, "It could never have been just that."

* * *

Bates cracked his eyes open as the harsh lights shined in his face. Hands under his arms brought him to his feet. Bates planted and hunched over, twisting at the waist to plant an elbow in the gut of the man to his right. The grip loosened and Bates wrested himself free to headbutt the man at his left. He stumbled back, holding his nose, and Bates looped his cuffed hands around the man's neck. His arms tightened and pulled. The man struggled, hands scrabbling at Bates's grip, but with another wrench Bates heard a crack.

Dropping the man to the ground Bates ducked a wild swing from his first victim. Charging the man with his shoulder, he slammed him into the wall. The other man gasped for air, flailing with his weak punches on Bates's back. Bates took a step back and punched the man in the throat. With a collapsed windpipe the man gagged, holding at his neck, before hitting his knees.

Bates heaved in breath, looking at the two bodies on the floor before he heard a crack. His right leg gave out beneath him and he hit the ground hard on his side. Bates tried to examine the area before a boot planted on his bleeding thigh.

"That wasn't very nice now was it?" Bates bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out as the other man dug the heel of his boot into Bates's leg. "But then again, you weren't nice enough to share your lady friend with me in Vienna or any information since then so I don't know what I really expected from you."

"Less, given how you haven't been feeding me."

"True. I did wonder what she saw in you too but I guess you've got a fire buried in you. Only that would've kept her with you instead of coming to me."

"I guess the idea that she just didn't like you was out of the question?" Bates risked before the man brought a fist down on his chin. Bates flexed his jaw, shaking his head to rid it of the ringing, "It was."

"You know, Mr. Bernhard," The Captain shook his hand, stretching his fingers, "I thought she looked too good for you. When she came in your car I said, 'she wants something from him' and I was proved right."

Bates shuffled to sit with his knees slightly bent, feeling the pain in his thigh as he moved. "She is too good for me. I freely admit that."

"When we read the file, I suspected that you forced her to your bed for business reasons."

"But she stayed for pleasure reasons."

The Captain sat on a chair someone else brought in as they dragged the two bodies out. "Maybe she was the spy all along and you're her patsy. The foolish old man who believed someone as beautiful as she is could ever want you. You'd die for her but, I wonder, would she die for you?"

"Would it matter?"

"If she was forced to be with you then a man, like yourself, traveling in the company of a superior woman rings true." The Captain smirked, "She must've hated working in your company. Trying to sell such a story just to rescue another dried up old agent."

"Depends on what that dried up old agent knew." Bates hissed as a medic pulled his leg straight, "It's all about risk-reward."

"It is." The Captain nodded, "And, if I never pay you another compliment Mr. Bernhard, your German is very good. You had me believing who you were until you decided to kill our soldiers."

"They were in the way." Bates snorted, "You of all people would understand that."

"Would I?"

"I know who you are." Bates looked the Captain in the eye, "You're the one who wants to be known as the Doctor of Pain. I recognized you in Vienna."

"I am that." The Captain stood, removing his coat and draping it over the arm of an assistant before kicking out the bottom of his wicker chair. "But, for you, I don't need information anymore so this will be far less technical than my traditional interrogations."

"Because starving me and having Rudolph help failed?"

"Because it's personal for me now, Mr. Bernhard."

The medic and another man lifted Bates to his feet as the Captain broke the back off the chair and forced Bates onto the now makeshift stool. He tried to break when they uncuffed him but the Captain landed his fist in Bates's face and sent his vision hazing as lights danced before his eyes. They yanked his arms back to tie his wrists to the short line connected to his ankles, keeping him arched backward on the stool.

"If I ever find your lady friend, Ms. Garcia, again," The Captain put a hand on Bates's shoulder, "I'll make sure she's treated as a woman of her beauty should be treated."

"You have no idea what that means." Bates relaxed his jaw before the fist impacted on the side of his face. "And she told me what you offered her."

"Did you feel jealous?"

"Why would I need to when she called out my name that night?" Bates grinned at the man. The blow to his abdomen made him want to buckle with it but his position prevented his muscles contracting enough. He wheezed in time with a flurry of fast punches over his stomach and chest that left him coughing.

"And what name is that, Mr. Bernhard?"

"Why?" Bates coughed, "Do you want to call it out too? I'm sorry but I'm not interested in helping you release."

Another hail of blows rained down on him and Bates tried to breathe shallowly through them. The Captain stepped back, smoothing his hair in place, "This could be easier, Mr. Bernhard. If you cooperate then you won't have to suffer the pain."

"If you're tired they might let you take a break." Bates felt the next punch to his upper chest and his body tipped back. He crashed to the floor, grunting as the pain lanced through his shoulders and head. His weight tipped him to the side as the Captain's boots entered his view.

"It's your choice, Mr. Bernhard. I admit, you've endured a few weeks of this but the body can only take so much. Your agent, O'Brien, she gave up her country in a heartbeat."

"And what did you give her?" Bates craned his neck to look up at the Captain. "She was under orders to betray us to get closer to her target. I'd imagine someone spoke a little too loudly and a little too often to her."

The Captain narrowed his eyes, "She knows nothing."

Bates shook his head, "Then why are you so scared?"

The kicks bruised Bates in minutes. He blinked the black away from the edge of his vision when he could not get enough air into his lungs. A moment later the barrage ceased and Bates gasped for breath.

"This will not end well for you, Mr. Bernhard, if you continue to refuse to help us." The Captain crouched in his vision, "It's your choice."

"I'd rather die than give you anything."

"That may be what happens here." The Captain tsked through his teeth, "Then who will care for your lovely agent?"

"Not you." The Captain turned, standing and Bates heard the sound of a gunshot. The Captain fell back, Bates flinching as the body hit the ground, and caught sight of a smaller pair of boots walking over and firing again. "I take care of myself."

Bates tried to look up as someone worked to untie his wrists. He blinked, believing he was dreaming, when he saw Anna. She bent next to him, putting her hands on his face. "You shot him."

"I told you I wanted to shoot him in Vienna but here is as good a place as any." Bates's arms swung free and she pulled him to her. "I'm so glad we found you."

"The Admiral would never-"

"He didn't." Anna helped Bates to his feet and he saw Mary, Talbot, and Branson. "We organized this on our own."

"He won't be happy about that."

"What the Admiral will or will not be happy about is not really our concern at the moment." Mary searched the Captain's body and took his gun. "Right now we need to get ourselves out of this building and somewhere far away."

"I couldn't agree more."


	16. Bombs

Anna held under Bates's arm as Talbot positioned himself under the other. Mary and Branson took the lead, guiding them through the bunker toward the surface. They walked the corridors until Bates groaned and Anna called to Mary to hold a moment.

Lowering Bates to the ground she looked at his leg. "The bullet's still in there."

"And unless he wants the nice Nazi doctors to take it out it'll have to stay for a bit." Mary looked around the corner, "Thursday we need a truck."

"I saw a few in the motor pool."

"Then that's where we'll go." Mary turned back to Talbot, Anna, and Bates. "Get Mr. Bernhard to the surface and we'll bring the truck around."

"Those detonators are almost ready to blow," Talbot checked his watch before putting Bates's arm around his shoulders again.

"Then they'll give us the distraction we need." Mary went to say something else but grabbed the wall as the whole bunker shook.

All of them turned their heads upward when the light flickered and dust came from the ceiling. Anna narrowed her eyes and turned to Mary, "Those can't be our bombs."

"No that was too big and to close," Mary sighed, "That's a bombing run."

"Americans." Branson groaned, "They're always late to everything and then expect you to thank them for even showing up at all."

"It'll give us the cover we need so I'll sing 'Stars and Stripes Forever' if that's what it takes for them to help us get out," Anna pushed Bates forward. "Let's go."

The five of them escaped of the base while personnel ran around trying to put out fires or help trapped soldiers while bombs dropped around them. Taking shelter under an overhang as a line of fire ripped up the ground around them and the building behind them took a direct hit, they caught their breath for a moment. All flinched again as Talbot's smaller bombs went off on the other side of the compound.

"Tuesday, Thursday, and I'll break for the truck and bring it back here." Mary pointed to Anna and Bates. "Stay put."

"Yes ma'am." Bates managed and Anna helped him slide to the ground.

"Hold on there Mr. Bernhard, we're going to get you out of here." Branson nodded at them before sprinting across the compound with Mary and Talbot on his heels.

Anna put a hand to Bates's face, "How is your leg?"

"Other than the bullet in there digging into the muscle?"

"Other than that." Anna stroked over her cheek before shuddering at the sound of another group of bombs dropping nearby. "I'm just glad we found you alive."

"And I'd like to stay that way as long as possible but I don't think our American friends are too interested in that."

"They're Americans. They can't hit anything and they'll just shoot until they think they hit the target." Anna laughed, "It'll be something to have the Admiral complain about later when we give him our reports."

"I thought we were supposed to leave people behind." Bates put his hand over hers, "That's what you told me in France."

"And you ignored me." Anna smiled at him, pulling closer to him.

"Admiral Crawley won't be pleased."

"Then he can sod off." Anna held Bates's face in her hands, "I wasn't about to leave you to die."

"But you got out."

"I did and we got O'Brien back to headquarters." Anna kissed him, "It's time to get you home Mr. Bernhard."

"I like the sound of that."

Another bomb dropped and Anna shielded Bates with her body. The skid of tires drew her attention and Anna saw Branson and Talbot climb out of the back of the truck. They lifted Bates between them, putting him in the back before helping Anna join him. Branson climbed in, slamming the hatch as Talbot returned to the cab of the truck with Mary driving.

"Now remember, clutch first and the-"

"I know Tuesday." Mary gunned the engine and weaved through the yelling soldiers and burning piles of debris.

They drove south until their truck sputtered for fuel. Anna guarded Bates in the back until Talbot and Mary returned with petrol. They filled the tank before continuing their drive west. The bumps in the road did nothing for Bates and Anna gritted her teeth with every grunt he tried to hide as his leg shifted.

It was just past dawn when they pulled into some trees within sight of a village as Bates groaned about the pain in his leg. Anna dug into the toolbox and extracted pliers. Branson pulled out his hip flask and Anna doused the pliers and her knife in the whiskey before ripping open Bates's trouser leg.

"Hold him." Anna directed Branson and Talbot to their positions before looking down at Bates, handing him a stick to put between his teeth. "This'll hurt."

"Do it."

Bates bit down on the stick as Anna dug the pliers into his leg. Branson and Talbot held his chest and legs in place while Mary stood guard outside the truck. A moment later Anna pulled back, holding the bullet in the pliers before tossing it aside.

"All out." Bates spit out the stick and Anna kissed his forehead, "You've been a very good patient."

"Still doesn't solve our problem." Mary climbed into the back of truck.

Anna barely acknowledged her as she bound up Bates's wound and tied the knot tight. "Which problems are those Friday because we've got more than a few?"

"Don't get cute with me," Mary warned. "We're trapped behind enemy lines with a lame man, no offense."

"None taken." Bates winced, "It feels worse than it looks."

"You'll live." Anna held his hand, "I'm very good at this."

"Can we get back on point?" Mary waited until all were looking at her, "Good. Now, we're almost to Frankfurt so we have a few choices."

"Like what?" Branson tried to sound jovial but Anna heard the twinge of fear there. "We're not exactly deal with choice bits here."

"No but we could try and drive south to Zurich and hope to get a plane from there. Or we drive to Paris and risk more German occupied territory before sneaking home." Mary suggested, "As I see it those are the first two most plausible choices for us."

"Our biggest problem is we stole a truck with the swastika all over it." Branson shook his head, "People tend to notice when things like this go missing."

"They also notice when you kill their interrogators and steal their captured spies." Mary sighed, "We've only the two choices."

"No," Anna held up a finger, "They're looking for a truck and a spy together so we give them two things to chase instead."

"I'm not following." Talbot pointed to the truck and then Bates. "What's the truck got to do with him?"

"We took a roundabout route getting to Berlin because no one suspected us to drop into Bern and then wend our way north. So, now, we do the same thing." Anna pointed to see and Bates. "I'll take Mr. Bernhard and we go south. We can get to Zurich and then maybe Milan before working our way, by boat, to Barcelona. From Barcelona we can fly to London."

"You'll fly out of Barcelona to London?" Mary shook her head, "That's ludicrous."

"It'll work."

"Monday we stand a better chance together."

"Not with me like this," Bates worked himself to a sitting position. "I'm a lame duck and there's nothing two more people carrying me is going to do to help that. It'll just be three lives for the price of one that way."

"And two lives for one is better?" Mary frowned, "You're maths needs work Mr. Bernhard."

"Friday's right, we didn't get ourselves into Berlin just to abandon you Mr. Bernhard." Talbot argued but Bates held up a hand.

"I know, and I'm grateful, but Monday's also right. We split up and then they have to divide forces looking for us."

"Suspecting they're even still looking for us after that bombing run." Branson snorted, "Maybe I was the only one who noticed but that base was blown to fecking hell."

"Thank you for that assessment Thursday." Mary sighed, "Monday, are you sure that'll even work?"

"Better than the five of us trying to hoof it over German occupied France." Anna pointed out the back of the truck, "There's a village there. Mr. Bernhard and I sneak in and steal a car. We drive it as far south as we can and then take the rest by foot."

"With his leg?"

"Then we steal another car." Anna shook her head, "It's all details anyway."

"Details are the mission, Monday."

"It's four hours to Zurich." Talbot calculated something in his head a moment, "They could do it with a full tank."

"And what about us?" Mary looked between Branson and Talbot, "How far could we get in this?"

"Halfway, maybe three-fourths of the way to Paris." Talbot looked at Branson, "What'd you think?"

"It's almost six hours but I could stretch this to the Reims, easy."

"And the checkpoints?"

"We've still got the uniforms and documents good enough for those border patrols." Talbot shrugged, "We could manage it."

"See?" Anna turned to Mary, "You three get back to headquarters and we'll be there as soon as we can."

"This is the reason Admiral Crawley never wanted to send in a rescue." Mary huffed, "Because he knew we'd be dead without an extraction and we didn't plan one. He'd give us all hell for the size of this cock up."

"We're alive Friday," Talbot shrugged, "It's all an adventure from there."

"It's a shitstorm, that's what this is." Mary took a deep breath, "Fine. Thursday, steal them a car while Tuesday and Monday get Mr. Bernhard ready for travel. We'll shift him into the new car and then we all drive like bats out of hell."

Anna put a hand on Mary's arm, "Thank you Friday."

"Don't thank me. This just means the Admiral has two chances to tear us all a new one when we get back to headquarters."


	17. Daring

Bates handled the cane, nodding to the man as Anna finished the exchange in Italian. He tested it in his right hand, using it to decrease his limp as they left the shop and walked back toward their vehicle. "What'd you tell him?"

"You were injured, fighting in France." Anna climbed into the driver's seat and Bates got comfortable in the passenger side. "I didn't tell him which side you fought for."

"Yes, let's not incite the locals. And how knows, in a short time my leg will be all healed and I won't need it."

"We an only hope."

Bates waved to the man in the shop, "How far until we reach Barcelona?"

"Maybe three days drive if we can keep this." Anna revved the engine and grunted at the sound of it catching on the third turn. "I don't think that'll be a possibility. It's probably not going to last long."

"I don't fancy trying to run for it with this leg."

"You've got a cane now."

"What's that going to do?"

"If we get caught you can always beat off our attackers." Anna winked at him and Bates frowned, "We'll just have to see if we can get another car. Or get this one repaired."

"We might want that before we head into France."

"Why? I do well with French mechanics." Anna kept her gaze forward as Bates narrowed his eyes.

"What French mechanics do you know?"

"I've met a few on my travels. There was one, in the Congo, after I saved that priest… Then one in Marseilles with these arms…" Anna shivered, "Those were an interesting couple of days."

"Were they?" Bates folded his arms and sat back.

"Don't be a spoilsport." Anna rubbed over his arm, "I married you, didn't I?"

"You did," Bates conceded, leaning over the seat to kiss her cheek, "No idea why."

"Entirely for your body Mr. Bernhard." Anna trilled and then squealed as Bates tickled her side. "We've only a few hours until we reach Genoa. We can use the car as collateral and board a fishing boat. With some convincing they'll get us to Barcelona."

"Giving up on the car already?"

"I wouldn't want to make you any more jealous with a mechanic." Anna paused and Bates watched the wheels turn behind her eyes before her mouth curved to grin at him, "Although… Italian sailors…"

Bates dug his fingers into her side again, sending her into giggles.

As per Anna's plan they found a boat willing to trade them passage for the coughing car. Bates recognized the suspicion in the eyes of the crew at their story and condition, but they accepted them on board. Part of the agreement necessitated they help with the fishing and while Anna proved dexterous enough at it, managing the machinery with efficiency, she never did quite find her sea legs like Bates regained his.

Two days later they put into a small port in Barcelona and Anna waved goodbye to their fishing companions before grabbing Bates's arm. He paused, feeling her grip on his arm was more than just a friendly touch, and turned to her. Still smiling she whispered to him through her teeth, "They suspect us."

"We just spent two days with them. If they thought anything why didn't they say so then?"

"There's no money in tossing us overboard in the choppy Mediterranean. Especially given we were never too far from shore." Anna turned them, walking slowly, "They're going to find the nearest Italian or German agent they can to sell our identities to them and then we'll be in trouble."

"So what do you want to do?"

"A plane's out of the question. We'd never get off the ground with all the suspicion and we shouldn't endanger any of our agents active here." Anna eyed the streets and turned down one, "We're heading north on foot."

"I hope the 'on foot' portion of what you just said is a phrase and not a plan."

"Actually," Anna surveyed the street and lifted the tarp on a vehicle before pounding her fist on the door next to it. "It could be both. Hopefully the former and not the latter."

An old man opened the door and Anna spoke to him in Spanish, pointing at the car. Bates caught the cognate words and, from the expressions and gesticulations of the two parties, gathered they were haggling over a price. Anna stepped to the side and pointed at Bates before asking a question he could not entirely understand. The man nodded and then Anna held up her finger to him, pausing the conversation for a second.

Walking over to Bates Anna kept the smile on her face. "He wants your cane for the car."

"My cane?"

"Yes."

"That's all?"

"He also insists we help him fix the car."

Bates groaned, "If he can put us up until it's fixed I'll give him the cane and a ride on my back if that's what it takes."

"Don't be overly ambitious." Anna took the cane and walked back over to the man. They exchanged a few more words and laughed. A moment later he waved them inside his house.

The man attempted his English for Bates to understand but soon gave up and reverted to having Anna translate between them. She explained their situation as one of forbidden love, which made Bates smile. The old man listened, enraptured, as Anna described how she found this German man injured in France and, after helping his recovery, they left the war behind to run away together.

His response, in the fastest Spanish Bates had ever heard, had Anna beaming and leaning over to translate for Bates, "He says that the Latin people understand love like that. He thinks we're symbols of what will stop the war if the two sides can only love each other. And he says he can offer us a room in the attic so we can express our love without disturbing him on the ground floor."

Bates coughed and shook his head, "That won't be necessary."

"Won't it?" Anna took her seat back and finished her conversation with the man. They helped him clean up after their meal and went outside to check the car. Between Anna and Bates they sussed out the problem with the engine and Anna requested the parts they would need to fix it enough to drive north.

"We can drive along the French border and then find a ship in San Sebastian," Anna held the hood of the car as she dug her fingers in the engine, "I hear the Pyrenees are lovely this time of year."

"I'm not much of a climber," Bates handed her a tool and held her by the waist when her top half bent inside the car to keep her from slipping onto the engine. "But if the car could take the strain of the weather I don't see why not."

"Good," Anna emerged, handing him the tool back, "Then, in two days time, we're going north."

Bates finally conceded to the man's offer and they took the attic bedroom for the night. Rifling through the spare clothes there Bates pulled out some and held them up, "I think he had a family."

"Most do." Anna extracted a nightgown of sorts and lifted it to check for threadbare patches. "He mentioned something about three children and a wife but I haven't seen them."

"Maybe they're in Equatorial Guinea?" Bates tapped his finger against a picture and Anna straightened the nightgown over herself while walking over to see it. "If he's got a plantation there then he might've sent his children and wife away to escape the war."

"If I had a family I'd send them away from the war too." Anna moved toward the bed, pulling down the covers and making herself comfortable in the middle of it. "If I could, I'd never go back to the war or the fighting."

Bates narrowed his eyes at her, "You say that but, since we're both here trying to get back to the war, I'd say that's not entirely accurate."

"Maybe I just don't want to be written up for dereliction of duty and never allowed back in my own country again?" Anna left Bates room to climb into the bed before snuggling by his side.

"I don't think that's the reason."

"Possibly because I don't know any other life than this and I wouldn't know what to do in that situation." Anna took a deep breath, "What else could I ever do?"

"I think there's no limit to what you could do if we set our minds to it."

They lay in silence a moment before Anna turned to face him, climbing to support herself on her hands on his chest, "Why not let them declare us dead? We could live out the rest of our lives here, in this attic, with you learning Spanish."

"Only if you'd be my tutor." Bates grinned at her and she leaned over to kiss him. "And promise to reward all my honest efforts."

"I could do that." She waved a hand toward the dark of the attic, "We'd head south, to Valencia or Malaga."

"Not Gibraltar? We could still be British in Spain."

"Don't tease," Anna poked him in the side, "We'll open a bar or a little hotel and then go to bed together every night."

"Would we stay in bed together all night?"

Anna licked her lips, teasing kisses over his jaw, "And some mornings too."

"I like that idea," Bates took a deep breath, "I can imagine it already."

"Really?"

"Really." Bates flipped them to move over her, taking his turn to tease at her neck, "There's only one problem."

"What?" Anna's breath came out in a wisp, her hands already streaking in Bates's hair.

Bates pulled back, his knees on either side of her hips, "You're still you and I'm still me. We want an end to this war."

"Let other people fight it."

"You wouldn't let that happen," He placed his lips just under her chin, working his way around her jaw as she sighed, "We'd last a week, if that, trying to find purpose dealing with tourists and angry locals."

"I'll handle them."

"How would you handle going to bed each night knowing our friends and countrymen are suffering and we could do something to stop it?"

"Terribly." Anna pulled his face up to meet his eyes, "Why are you so noble?"

"Because you like heroes."

Anna snuck a quick kiss from his lips, "I reward heroic action, Mr. Bates, there's a difference."

"Is there?" Bates grinned at her, sliding down her body as his hands lifted the nightgown off her. He sucked in a breath, admiring her naked form before licking his way down it. "Because either way I get a reward."

"What reward do you want?" Anna hissed as Bates nipped at her bundle of nerves, his shoulders working her legs apart before he shucked his borrowed trousers down his legs.

"I'm going to drink you dry and then take you as slowly as possible." He paused, "Would you like that?"

"Yes please."

Bates ran his hands over her legs, glancing up to see Anna dig her fingers into the sheets around them as his tongue dipped out to brush against her. The softness of the touch sent her twitching under him, biting her lip to keep her cries from waking the man downstairs. With a slow slide Bates ran one hand up to caress over her center before pinching her folds.

Anna's back arched and her legs clenched but Bates refocused the attentions of his tongue on the hood over her nerves. Playing over it while his fingers manipulated her sensitive skin, Bates used his other hand to grab her ass. She gasped as he lifted her to his mouth. The fingers on one hand spread her wide for him and his other hand squeezed into the flesh of her ass as his tongue delved deep.

"John!" Anna cried out, moving one hand to the back of his head, holding him in place while her hips jerked toward him.

"It's been too long Anna." Bates hummed against her, worrying first one side and then the other with his teeth before sucking her folds into his mouth. "Do you know how much I dreamed about this when I was captured?"

Anna could not respond, her eyes squeezed closed and her focus lost in the frantic shift of her head from one side to the other. Bates dragged his tongue up, reaching a third finger to find her center, and drew out another gasp from Anna. Even with her body trying to free itself from the clutches of pleasure his other hand kneaded slowly over her.

"Come for me Anna." Bates flicked his tongue at her nerves, fingers curled inside her, "Come now."

She broke, sobbing out his name to the rafters of the house. Bates drank at her, lapping his tongue in and out of her until he was sure her body was spent. Her muscles still tightened and released against his fingers as he slid them out, sucking them as dry as he sucked her before moving back over her.

Anna grabbed him, forcing his lips onto hers. He gave himself over to her, positioning his hips low while her hands raked down his back. The feeling of her hands tightening around him had Bates thrusting forward into her grip. She chuckled against him, forcing her tongue into his mouth as Bates put a hand to her cheek.

He drew back a minute, trying to find his breath as his wife drove him to jerk in her grip, his hips meeting hers and brushing over her swollen center. Her chest moved up and down, panting in time with his as Bates aligned himself. Removing her hand he pressed forward, running his length over her once, and then surged forward.

They groaned in harmony with one another, her fingers reflecting his earlier actions at the claw-like way she held onto his ass. Bates risked another kiss to her mouth but while Anna accepted the slow movements of his hips, taking care to rub his pelvic bone against her when he sank as deeply as he could inside her, she took dominance in their kiss. He broke from her, lathering her neck and shoulders with quick touches before lowering his head to her breasts.

Anna's other hand speared in his hair, controlling his angle when he took her nipples into his mouth. Her ankles locked behind his back, sending him still further as he thrust into her, and she lifted her hips to change their angle. Bates groaned as she met his drives with practiced ease.

"I missed you," She whispered in his ear, crying out when he bit her breast then sighing as he soothed the action with his tongue.

"I thought you were supposed to leave me behind?" Bates risked it, pausing in his movements to give them a moment to settle.

In the silence Anna gripped his chin, Bates losing focus when she clung to him with her inner muscles as well, and looked him in the eye. "I could never leave you behind."

"You wanted me to leave you once."

"We weren't married then." Anna bucked against him and Bates had to move, "I promised 'for better or worse' and I meant it."

"Even risking a Nazi torture camp?" Bates rammed himself inside her and Anna practically shrieked.

"Anything."

"Good." Bates kissed her, only separating when his fingers rubbed at her nerves to drive her to finish with the sounds he loved most, "Because I'd risk anything for you."

"I love you," Anna lifted her hips, as if frantic to send herself over the edge again. "More than life itself."

"And I love you." Bates pressed down as he finished a final drive.

She shattered beneath him and a few thrusts later he finished as well. He tried to avoid dropping onto her but Anna pulled him closer and held him to her. Her breath near his ear matching his own until they cooled.

Anna giggled and buried her face in his shoulder. Bates shifted, moving them to their sides so he could stare at her. "What is it Mrs. Bates?"

"I think he heard us." Anna buried her head in the pillow to muffle her laughter as Bates listened.

He joined in her laughter as he heard the floors under them creak. "I think he was hoping for it."

Anna nodded, "He was."

Bates settled himself next to her, "What are we going to do?"

"About having him hear us?"

"No," Bates tickled at her side and grinned when she swatted him away. "I mean about the fishermen selling us out to the Germans?"

"We just have to hope they'll think we already made a break for it instead of staying in Barcelona."

"You really think that will work?"

"One can hope." Anna snuggled into his side, "But we'll worry about that tomorrow."

* * *

Anna turned the key but the engine ground itself out. She pulled out of the driver seat and investigated the engine, "Bloody thing."

"Perhaps you need to change a spark plug." Anna wiped at her hands as a man approached her, speaking in accented Spanish. "Usually it's a simple fix."

"I changed all the plugs already." Anna went back to the engine, hand wrapping over a wrench, tightening a gasket, "But thank you for your suggestion."

"It's nothing." He waved a hand, still coming closer before leaning on the side of the car, "I've never seen a woman know so much about automobiles."

"And I've never met someone with an accent like yours." Anna leaned up to look at him, "Where are you from?"

"I could ask you the same question, with your English phrase."

Anna froze, her knuckles whitening on the wrench. "I learned English in school. Our teacher was British."

"So was mine." The man's voice changed to English and Anna heard a tinge of German to it. "I also learned Spanish at University. Where did you learn yours?"

Anna stood up, "I learned here, where I grew up."

"In Barcelona?"

"Valencia." Anna nodded at him, "Thank you for the lovely conversation and your attempt to help but I need to fix my father's car."

"Of course." He nodded to her, "You have a pleasant day."

Anna waited for him to leave before ducking back inside the house. She saw Bates, standing just inside the doorway and they nodded to one another. Bates checked out the window again before sighing, "They know we're here."

"We can't leave now," Anna pointed to the street, "They'll be watching us."

"Then we fix the car and leave in the middle of the night."

"They'll be planning for that too." Anna sighed, "We'll have to escape on foot."

"What?"

"They'll think we're fixing the car to run."

Bates scoffed, "They're not wrong because we were."

"Now we'll take the rooftops to the edge of town. We'll find something there and make our way to San Sebastian." Anna sat down at the table and propped up her elbows to bury her face in her hands, "It only took them two days to find us."

"Well," Bates took the other chair and held her hands in his, stroking over them, "All they had to look for was the most beautiful woman in Barcelona and obviously it was you."

Anna smiled at him, "Charmer."

"I aim to please."

They kissed and Anna rubbed her thumb over his jaw before nodding, "We'll leave tonight. Take the attic window to the rooftops and be gone by morning."

"We're leaving the car?"

Anna nodded, "But not before I fix it. It's the least I can do."

That evening, Anna packed her few things into a satchel. The owner of the house handed her something and Anna held it carefully in her hands, "I can't take this. This belonged to your wife."

"It's yours." He insisted, "You gave me a beautiful cane and fixed my car. It is all I can give you."

Anna nodded and wrapped the vase into the satchel. Bates joined her, arranging his own bag over his shoulders. She nodded to him and Bates shook hands with the man of the house. The man cleared his throat and tried, in his best English, "Thank you for being here."

"Da nada." Bates managed and the man laughed. They embraced and Anna opened the window.

Climbing out of the window, Anna led the way over the roof tiles. In the little moonlight they had they managed careful steps over the roofs. Anna held out an arm and stopped Bates as they reached the edge of one roof. Pointing down Anna waited for Bates to peek at the men waiting in the street beneath them.

"Seems we left in time." Bates murmured and Anna nodded.

She stepped back a second and then jumped the small distance. Bates landed a second later, following Anna over the rooftops. They weaved through the city, backtracking when the distance between roofs was too much to overleap. When they found the edge of the city they dropped to the roof of a shed and then the ground.

Anna checked her satchel for the vase and Bates noticed. He pointed to it and lifted an eyebrow. Smiling, Anna adjusted it, "It was a gift to his wife at their wedding."

"I thought his wife was in Equatorial Guinea."

"She passed before the war. His children are there, waiting out the war, and he thought we could use something to make our home our own one day."

"That was sweet of him," Bates pointed forward, "And I've every intention of making a home with you."

"Then let's get back to England to do that." Anna kissed him, "It's just a few hundred miles away."

* * *

Bates helped Anna out of the boat and blew out in a rush. He rolled his shoulders back and took Anna's hand as they walked to the car where Branson held the door open for them. Anna climbed in first and Bates joined her.

Branson took the front, immediately pulling away from the docks and driving southwest from the East India port. "It's amazing how you got all the way home on your own. Not quite like my adventure in Bern."

"Was your involvement in the Berlin rescue part of what sent you back to driving Thursday?" Anna leaned forward but Branson shrugged.

"It didn't help but we were finished in Bern anyway and needed to get out of there. German intelligence was almost onto us."

"Is he upset?"

"Upset was what he was when Tuesday, Friday, and I rolled into his office at headquarters a month and a half ago covered in mud and sea spray after escaping U-boats and the Germans on the Channels Islands." Branson risked a peek back, "I don't know what he'll say about the agents who married under his nose and then wove their way around the all of Europe before getting home."

Bates cringed, "He knows we're married?"

"Tuesday accidently let it slip when he defended Monday seeking you out Mr. Bernhard."

Bates flopped back against the seat, "He'll court martial me for this."

"He won't bother with that." Anna rubbed his arm, "We'll be shot instead."

"That's not better."

In the end, as they stood in borrowed clothes smelling of fish and sea spray, Admiral Crawley ripped into them for an hour before sentencing them to two weeks desk duty and debrief with Friday. They walked out of the office and Anna grabbed his hand, "I think we should go home now Mr. Bernhard."

"I think we should go home. We have a vase I need to fill with roses."

"Roses?"

"To go with the petals I'll leave all over the floor and the bed where I'm going to have my way with you until you want to have your way with me."

"I like this plan more and more." Anna grinned at him, "However I have something I need to say."

"What?"

"I'm having my way with you first."


	18. Dreams

Anna flicked a finger in Bates's hair as his nose twitched. She did it again and he blinked his eyes open to look at her. Smiling at him, she dipped down to kiss him. "Good morning Mr. Monday."

He shifted in bed, catching her hand before she could play with his hair again. Bates brought it to his lips, kissing over it, "Have they decided to change my codename now that people know I'm your husband?"

"I think Admiral Crawley wants to pretend that it didn't actually happen so he's determined to keep you 'Mr. Bernhard'." Anna slipped her hand loose and went back to making lines in Bates's hair with her fingers. "But, according to all reports, the war will hopefully end soon and then we've no need for codenames."

"You wouldn't stay with Naval Intelligence after the war?"

"I don't know." Anna moved up on the bed, sitting facing the headboard as Bates moved to put his back against the headboard. "I think I've done a lot of good work for them but I don't know if I want to stay once the Nazi's are gone. What could there be to fight after that?"

"A lot." Bates took a deep breath, "But what would you do?"

"Maybe open a shop." Anna joked and Bates laughed with her. "Maybe we could go back to Spain and open that hotel on the beach."

"We could," Bates leaned forward, running his finger up Anna's bare arm, sneaking under the sleeve of her nightgown. "But I don't want to leave the Navy."

"You want to stay in the Navy?" Anna scooted closer, shivering when it forced Bates's fingers up over her shoulder.

"I do." Bates focused on pulling the ties of her nightgown. "Unless you think it's a bad idea."

"No," Anna put hands on his shoulders, "I think you should do what makes you happy."

"You make me happy." Bates kissed the juncture between Anna's jaw and neck. "This isn't just my decision anymore."

"Well, I think that if the Navy makes you happy and you want to stay with the Navy, or with Naval Intelligence, then you should." Anna shifted to straddle Bates's waist. "I just have to find what I want."

"What kind of things would you want?"

"I don't know," Anna looped her arms over his shoulders, "Maybe children."

"You want to be a housemother?" Bates chuckled as Anna shrugged. "I could see them equal to the struggles of making yourself an agent of the empire. Running down children who get into everything, know how to hide themselves away where no one can find them, and speak languages we don't understand. I see you equal to that challenge."

"Depends on how many we have." Anna reached down and pulled her nightgown off. She smiled when she could feel Bates's response under her. Grinding down on him Anna laughed as Bates's eyes rolled back. "How many could we have?"

"How many do you want to chase after?"

"However many we can manage."

"When?"

"It could take some time so I guess we should start now and see how many we get?" Anna lifted herself to her knees and moved so Bates could draw his pajama bottoms down his legs. "Do you want to try now?"

"Yes," Bates nodded his head as quickly as possible. "Yes, please."

"Good." Anna leaned forward to kiss Bates, "That's very good."

Bates trailed his fingers up and down her legs, as Anna sunk her tongue into his mouth. She tipped her head to the side to take more of his mouth as her hands tightened on the back of his neck. With a sigh Anna broke the kiss as Bates's fingers traced over her folds.

"You're already wet Anna."

"How can I not be? I sleep next to you." Anna twisted on his fingers, forcing them deeper inside her. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Yes." Bates shifted forward, kissing down her neck to her collarbone and then down to her breasts. Anna gasped and scrapped her nails over Bates's shoulders. His fingers drove deeper, curling inside her.

With the undulation of Anna's hips she felt his fingers brush against her nerves. Moaning, Anna brought Bates closer to her. Anna rocked her hips and finally sent herself over the edge.

Her forehead drooped to Bates's shoulder as she tried to regain her breath. After a moment one of her hands stroked down his chest to grip his arousal. Bates jerked in her hold as she giggled against his neck. She raised her head to look him in the eye while flicking her wrist to bring him to the edge.

"Are you ready Mr. Monday?"

"Please." Bates took her mouth as Anna positioned herself to sink down on him, a moment later seating him fully inside her.

He struck deep and both of them groaned into the other's mouth. Anna's nails indented Bates's skin at his shoulders and on his chest while his hips rutted into her. Their hips struck, the sound of flesh striking flesh filling Anna's ears.

"Come on Mr. Monday," Anna encouraged, bobbing up and down to bring her own breath to panting. "Don't you want to come?"

Bates sat up, holding Anna closer, "Yes."

He thrust into her and she cried out as the shift sent him striking against her center. His hands slid over her back, mapping her skin while his chest brushed over her sensitive breasts. In moments Anna went over the edge again with Bates joining her a moment later.

They settled, Anna kissing his forehead, "Do you think we'll have a baby from that?"

Bates chuckled and then kissed her, "We can only hope."

* * *

Bates narrowed his eyes at the images Mary flashed on the board. "And we're doing what with him?"

"Hopefully only removing him as an issue but we're not exactly against the idea of you killing this bastard." Mary jerked a thumb toward him, "This general is stopping all our forward progress in North Africa. If we can remove him then General Patton can establish his beachhead and take Nazi's territory in North Africa before we move to Italy. Victory in North Africa will mean Europe can be in our sights for the taking."

"What will we be doing about him?" Bates flexed his fingers, interlacing them.

"He's basing himself in Tripoli and has moved to Tangier but we're sure he's trying to stop General Paton making his beachhead in Morocco." Mary pointed to the map, "If we can eliminate this general we'll have a clear line for General Patton and the Americans can sweep in to claim victory in this war like they did the last."

"I don't know if that's entirely fair." Anna shrugged, "They have done a fair deal to help us fight in this war. I don't think they're going to appreciate what we've done but we can at least acknowledge they're doing something."

"Whatever the Americans think of themselves is beside the point," Admiral Crawley knocked on the table, "We need them to bring their armies over North Africa and they need us to rub out a general. There's not much else to say about it."

"Are we dropping in or taking on personas?" Anna tapped on the folder, "This doesn't say how we're getting to him using a cover."

"That's the thing…" Mary chewed at her lip, "You're going to get caught."

* * *

Anna ran her fingers over the stem of her glass, tapping her foot against air as she tried not to act bored. Bates's hand covered hers and she smiled at him, "I thought being an arms dealer was going to be a lot more fun."

"I'm sure the surprise will be when they find out you're the one Friday designated as the dealer." Bates nudged her, tugging a bit at his bowtie, "I'm the one in the white monkey suit with a gun I would never want to carry strapped near my armpit."

"I thought it was a good gun."

"It's a Soviet gun. 'Good', 'Soviet', and 'gun' are not words that belong in the same sentence." Bates cocked his head to the side, "Unless it's their rifle, I might consider picking up one of those."

"Maybe you should've acted the arms dealer. I know nothing about Soviet weapons. At least not enough to sell them. I only know how to shoot them."

"And that's all we'll be doing with them. Besides," Bates shrugged, "A woman leading the operation will be enough to put them on edge and less likely to shoot us."

"That's right," Anna shifted in her sparkly dress, "They'll just take us hostage."

"We've been through worse. We've got the stories to tell so I know this is the least of our worries."

"I just wonder which of these stories we'll one day be allowed to actually tell our children." Anna sighed, "To think that our covers are as paper pushers in the bureaucratic components of the government and our children will grow up thinking that we sat behind desks for the whole war and signed documents or carried faxes."

"Technically," Bates raised is glass to his lips, "They'll only think that about you. I'm still in the Navy."

"Then I was dutiful war bride?"

Bates shrugged, "If you like."

"I wouldn't mind it." Anna smiled at him then her face fell, "They're here."

Two soldiers entered the bar and immediately spotted them. Bates pulled his shoulders back, making his gun more accessible. "I think this is the first time I've ever endeavored to miss a target."

"If we kill them we don't get captured." Anna slid her hand under the table, wrapping her fingers over the gun there. "And we're trying not to hit anyone else."

The soldiers pulled back chairs and sat at their table. One spoke to them in German and Bates answered quickly while pointing to Anna. The second soldier rolled his eyes and turned to Anna, speaking in French. "He says she's the boss."

"If we could all decide to speak in a language we all understand?" Anna used English, polishing it as if she were a French woman speaking English, "It's unfair to my assistant here if he only has your body language to indicate your cooperation."

"Then he'd be disappointed since we're not cooperating." The second soldier put his gun on the table. "Our general has ordered us to detain you on charges of weapons smuggling to Allied Powers here in Morocco."

Anna put a hand to her chest, "Those are severe allegations. I'm nothing but a business owner simply making my living in the world. If I happen to sell a chocolate bar that ends up in the hands of some American G.I. does that mean I sold it directly to him?"

"Guns are not chocolate bars."

"Would that they were, then this is just an argument over dessert toppings instead of a war that leaves ashes for our children." Anna leaned her elbows on the table, "Tell me, gentlemen, what bothers your general more? That I am common or that I am competition to his own illegal actions?"

"Our general is beyond reproach."

"My dear, naïve gentlemen," Anna took a sip from her glass, "No one is above reproach."

"We're here to, politely, invite you to cease your activities."

"Politely?" Anna turned to Bates, "They're being polite."

Bates shrugged and gave his English a German accent, "I thought it was polite."

Anna pointed to Bates, "He thinks you're polite so you get another minute gentlemen."

"We're serious. You have until tomorrow to stop your operations."

"And if I decide that there's more money in denying your not-so-generous proposal?" Anna waited and watched the man put his hand on the gun.

"We've got less desirable outcomes for your consideration."

"So it's my business or my life?" Anna took deep breath, "I guess that gives us little choice, doesn't it Mr. Bernhard?"

Bates drew the gun and shot both men in the shoulders. Anna yanked her gun free and fired at the soldiers who came through the door. One of them went down with a shattered knee and the other put his hands to his side before tumbling down the stairs.

They ran for the back door and more soldiers stopped them. Bates landed a punch in the nose of one's face and Anna jammed her fist into another's throat. Two tried to grab Anna but she planted an elbow in the gut of the one to the left and the one to the right went down under Bates's haymaker.

When guns came out, shouting in German filling the air, Anna raised her hands in the air and dropped her gun. Bates followed her lead and raised his arms. Hands grabbed them, forcing them to their knees as their hands were cuffed.

One of the soldiers, holding his bleeding shoulder, approached them, "This could have been easier for you."

"Easy is the word for uninteresting." Anna smiled and shrugged, "I don't live my life to be uninteresting."

"Then expect it to be very interesting from now on."


	19. Edge

Bates tested the bindings keeping him linked to the table and let out a breath. The Nazi officer paced around the room and continued giving out a list of questions in German. Sighing with boredom Bates adjusted in the chair and coughed at the officer's question.

The officer stopped, knocking on the table to get Bates's attention, "Am I boring you?"

"Very much so." Bates pointed a finger at the man, "You've no idea why I'm here, I've no idea why I'm here, and at the end of the day we're just wasting everyone's time by staying here."

"Strong words from someone trying to sell weapons to the Allies under our noses." Bates went to turn away from him but the officer snapped his fingers in Bates's face. "I think it's you who doesn't understand why I'm here. You don't comprehend the gravity of this situation."

Bates leaned over the table, drawing the chains toward him, "No, the gravity of this situation escapes you."

Flinging his hands forward Bates caught the man around the neck with the length of chain holding him to the table. Bates pulled tight, dragging the man over the table, and watched as the man kicked his legs. The man yanked at the chain around his neck with shaking fingers. In a minute the man stopped moving and Bates dug in his pocket for the keys to his cuffs.

Bates stole the man's gun and opened the door to the room. Listening down the hall for movement, Bates stole from the room and walked as quietly as he could. Once at the first juncture he listened again. After a moment he smiled to himself and opened the door to a room three paces from his position. He turned the knob and smiled to see Anna uncuffing herself.

She dropped the cuffs and smiled at him, "It took you a bit Mr. Bernhard."

"I wanted to give you an advantage." Bates waved his hand toward the door and Anna joined him, holding the edge of her dress as she walked over the body of the man on the floor of her room.

"Some advantage." Anna took the gun she offered and checked it before turning back to him. "Where do you think the General likes to hide in his little bunker?"

"A large room with expensive pieces of art and more finery than he needs to compensate for those things he knows he doesn't have." Bates shrugged, "I'd say nearest the exit and escape route. But we should probably ask someone."

"Good plan." Anna drew in a breath, "Do you want to lead or shall I?"

"They took my jacket so I feel a little underdressed for a meeting with a general." Bates swept his hand forward, "Ladies first."

"So kind Mr. Bernhard."

They moved through the bunker, avoiding soldiers and staff members by ducking into corners or alcoves, until the reached the main office. Bates held up a finger to Anna and she nodded. Stepping to the side she hid herself in an alcove and Bates ducked into the room.

The one officer inside looked up in surprise but Bates immediately covered his mouth and cocked the gun near the man's chin. "I'm going to give you until five, because I'm feeling generous, and you'll tell me where to find the general. Do we understand each other?" The man nodded, head bobbing up and down almost too quickly for his neck to sustain. "Good. Where?"

"His office is just up that hallway. He's there now."

"And you wouldn't lie to me?"

"No."

"Good." Bates spun the gun in his hand and held it between his fingers before clocking the guard in the face with it. His head dropped back and Bates checked his pulse before nodding and leaving the office.

Anna joined him in the hall and Bates pointed toward the office. They reached the door and Bates took the handle in his hand. Anna passed the gun to him, lifting the edge of her skin to unwind a garrote from around her thigh.

As she stood Bates grinned at her and Anna wagged a finger. "Patience Mr. Bernhard. They'll be time for that when we drink to this in Gibraltar."

"I hate Gibraltar."

Bates opened the door as quietly as possible and Anna stole inside the room. Following her, Bates raised his weapon. They slipped behind the door, the general standing with their back to them as he analyzed a map. His shift in posture and occasional hums had Bates nodding to Anna.

She sprung forward, looping the garrote around the general's neck. He struggled, scrabbling his fingers over the wire, but Anna pulled tighter until the general stopped moving. His body dropped to the floor and Anna snapped the garrote from his neck.

"I thought we wanted him alive?" Bates checked the body and then examined the maps all over the table.

"I didn't think you had an opinion either way about the life of a Nazi general." Anna went over to the radio system on the desk and fiddled with the frequencies for a moment. "I know I don't."

"It's not that so much as the more bodies, the more clean up."

"I don't think the Americans want to drag a belligerent Nazi general around their rear camp and I don't want to drag him back to Gibraltar." Anna found the frequency and spoke into the microphone as Bates examined the plans. "This is Ms. Monday calling Eagle One. Spider has been destroyed. Repeat, Spider has been destroyed."

Bates looked up at the static on the other end. "There's not supposed to be radio silence. They were waiting on our signal."

Anna tried again, "This is Ms. Monday calling Eagle One. Spider has been destroyed. Spider has been-"

The doors burst open and shouting filled room. Bates turned and immediately put his hands in the air, Anna copying him, as harsh American voices yelled commands. Someone kicked Bates in the knee and he tumbled forward while someone else grabbed Anna's hands near her head and forced her to the ground.

Bates turned his head to see Anna as one of the soldiers tied his hands behind his back. "I thought they were on our side."

Anna only huffed as they were both hauled to their feet. "They're Americans."

* * *

Anna shut her eyes. Craning her head back she shook her head and the faced the interrogator again. "It's exactly like I told you the first five times you asked. I'm Ms. Monday and I work for British Naval Intelligence. We, my partner Mr. Bernhard and I, killed the general as part of a strike force dedicated to helping establish the American beachhead in Morocco led by General Patton."

"Because General Patton needed your help."

"Clearly or I wouldn't be in Morocco pretending to be an arms dealer to get captured by Nazis."

The man leaned toward her, "Do you think we're so stupid that we'd believe a painted whore we find in the general's office with his dandy?"

"Honestly I don't know how stupid you are."

"I'm asking a serious question."

"Then take my answers seriously." Anna took a breath, "I don't know what you believe, since I never really gave the American government or its operatives much leeway for brains, but I guess even a blunt instrument can understand that we were here to act as a surgical strike and not the sledgehammer your men were."

"You're a what?"

"A surgical strike. Like a scalpel instead of a machete for delicate medical operations." Anna threw her hands up, "How else would I be radioing for 'Eagle One'?"

"Someone gave you the information."

"Of course they did, your own OSS gave it to Admiral Crawley at Naval Intelligence."

"Then we have a leak."

Anna groaned, "I truly am amazed you ever broke yourselves away from the Empire in the first place given your arrogant ignorance."

"Look miss-"

"It's not 'miss', it's 'agent'. Specifically you may address me as 'Ms. Monday' or 'ma'am'."

The man snorted, "Alright, 'ma'am', we need you to be honest with us and we'll let you go."

"I have been honest and you haven't let me go."

"We're just trying to find out how a German agent like yourself got ahold of our radio frequency."

"Do none of your agencies speak to one another?" Anna waited but the man stayed silent, "I'm not German. I don't even speak German, my partner does. I speak French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. I'm English, specifically from Yorkshire. I grew up in Scarborough where my parents owned a shop until they bought a sheep farm to breed rare sheep for market. I now live near Buckinghamshire. Or I would if I was ever out of London."

"That's a very good cover."

"It's not a cover." Anna pointed to the phone, "Call Admiral Crawley with British Naval Intelligence and he'll tell you exactly who I am and how our mission was sanctioned, dare I say _requested_ , by both our governments to secure victory in North Africa."

The man pursed his lips and then leaned forward on the table, "Are you Jewish? Are you trying to escape the Nazi's to American custody?"

"I'm bloody Anglican you moron and if I want to escape anything it's American custody because you're all bloody idiots."

"Ma'am if you can just calm down-"

"If I have to listen to another word from your dithering jaw I'll break it."

The man went to respond but then the door opened. Admiral Crawley walked in with Mary. The man tried to stand but Mary hit him with her bag and he stumbled to hold it as she dropped it in his grip before taking his chair.

"We'll take three Earl Greys. That means you boil the water, strain the leaves through a tea strainer, stir the lemon in slowly and then let it settle until the steam wisps." Mary waited, "Do you need me to repeat my instructions? Because I can say them slower if you're really as stupid as you look."

The man hurried to put the bag on the table and then left the room. Admiral Crawley shook his head, "I don't know how they get anything done with the stupidity all their bureaucratic employees. Or their boneheaded military."

"Sir I can explain how we got captured-"

"Ms. Monday," Admiral Crawley put a hand forward, "You're work here was a success. I'm here for no other reason than to rescue my agents from American hands."

He sighed, "I never thought I'd have to say those words. What is this, 1812?"

Anna stood, "And is Mr. Bernhard alright?"

"He's in another room. Tuesday and Thursday are helping him debrief in there." Mary tapped the table, "I don't think that man's going to bring me tea."

"I don't think they know how to brew tea. All they have is that sludge they call coffee." Admiral Crawley shivered, "Come on then Ms. Monday, it's time for us to get back to London."


	20. Surrender

Bates laid his head on Anna's shoulder and her hand immediately moved to hold him there. They swayed together as the fireworks lit up the windows of their flat. Bates slid his hands around to caress her protruding abdomen and kissed Anna's neck.

"I hear they're burning effigies of Hitler in every park from here to the Hebrides."

"It's almost like Guy Fawkes day." Anna tilted her head to the side and sighed as Bates continued to lay kisses over her neck. "If you keep doing that Mr. Bernhard we're going to miss the finale."

"Then we'll miss the finale," Bates turned Anna in his arms, "I can think of a much better way to celebrate four years of hard work."

"I thought we already had?" Anna teased, holding at the back of his neck to dance with him in their sitting room.

"Oh?" Bates made a face, "Remind me how that was?"

"Well, we bought this flat."

"Yes, that was a celebration," Bates nodded toward the settee, sitting a little lopsided on the floor. "We broke that celebrating."

"Didn't stop us finishing."

"No," Bates ran his hands up and down her sides, "No it didn't."

"And then we celebrated after you were promoted," Anna flicked at his shoulder, "I quite admire you in that coat, Admiral."

"I'd quite admire you without so much clothing on."

"It's only a nightgown."

Bates ran his tongue along her chin, "Still too much."

"Leading me to celebration three," Anna dug her fingers into Bates's hair, "The baby."

"I almost forgot," Bates grinned, running his hand over her abdomen, "The best gift of all."

"To celebrate a life of motherhood?"

"To celebrate us." Bates kissed her, pulling her toward the bedroom, "In the best ways I know how."

"Really?"

"The combination of you and me? I couldn't think of anything better than that." Bates stopped by the door to another room, "Except perhaps this."

He opened the door and Anna's hands flew to her mouth. "John!"

"Your home office, for the private investigation firm of 'Monday through Friday'." Bates cringed, "I do wish you hadn't let Mary pick the name."

"She thought it was ingenious." Anna walked into the room, running her hand over the desk and the cot. "When'd you do this?"

"When you were looking at premises with Mary today." Bates joined her by the cot, "So you can have the baby close by and don't have to worry."

"What about you?" Anna held Bates's hand, "I won't have you close by. What'll I do when I worry about you?"

"The war's over darling. Or nearly over. Once the Americans finish the Japanese then the world goes back to normal. You'll have no need to worry over me, I promise you that."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely." Bates tugged her hand, "This way."

Anna followed Bates to their bedroom door and gasped when she saw the candles lining the room, the floor strewn with rose petals, and a fire licking at the sides of the hearth. "John it's beautiful."

"I promised you this when we escaped Spain but time got away from me then so that plan fell through."

"There was a war on."

"That's no excuse," Bates reached around the door and brought the vase from Spain with roses in it, "you deserve every good thing I could ever possibly give you."

"And you deserve everything I could give you." Anna took the vase in hand, "We've shared so many memories it'd hard to imagine a time before I needed you."

"That time will never come again," Bates held her close, "May we never forget the memories that hold us together."

"Forgetting would be impossible." Anna put her hand to his cheek and kissed him. "I rather think I'm ready to disrobe now John."

"Let me help you with that."

Bates tugged at the waist of her nightgown, helping her draw it over her head. He sucked in a breath when he saw Anna wore nothing underneath. She shrugged, "I may've had my own celebration plans in mind."

"Did you?" Bates swallowed, "And what were those?"

"They included that bed," Anna pulled his hand closer to it, "And you without all your clothes."

Had he owned a stopwatch Bates would have used it because, at that moment, he was sure he set a record for the speed a human would divest themselves of clothing. He crawled onto the bed and Anna climbed after him. She patted the pillows near the headboard and John sat himself against them as Anna worked herself to straddle him.

Bates hands went immediately to the swell that sometimes moved. When they sat alone in the sitting room, reading together or individually, Anna would sometimes grab his hand and pull it to her stomach. They would both go silent until they felt the movement and then grin at one another like idiots.

Even now, with Anna positioned just short of where Bates wanted her, he focused on the life they made together. He took a moment to caress over her skin and bent to kiss it. Anna's hand covered his and she brought it to her mouth, their eyes meeting.

"No matter where you are in the world, I'll still worry about you."

"Nothing could stop me getting back to you." Bates took Anna's mouth in a slow kiss, "Or from our baby. I promise."

"Do you?"

"If you could infiltrate Nazi Germany for me then I can return to you." Bates waited a moment, "Nothing will stop me always coming back to you. I'm yours, for ever and ever, for good and proper."

"Good and proper," Anna rocked her hips against him and Bates moaned, "I rather like that idea."

"Don't tease," Bates warned, nipping at her breast, "Because I play that game better than you."

"Really?" Anna snuck a hand between them and wrapped over his erection, "Care to play that game Admiral Bates?"

"I do." Bates took one breast in his mouth as his fingers formed a 'v' to stroke at her folds. "I play it very well."

Anna's fingers were claws in the skin of his neck and tight about him. "I still maintain that I think I'll win."

Bates released her left breast to take her right, "I think I will."

"I always win, John." Anna flicked her wrist and Bates broke his hold, sending his head back, "See."

Bates flipped them, careful and conscious of her stomach, and aligned them, "What if I just let you win?"

"Winning is winning, John."

"I couldn't win anything better than when I won you."

Bates thrust in and Anna wrapped her legs about his waist. His motions started slow, pulling to the brink before pressing back inside. Her hands ran over the skin of his back, drawing up from his hips and then back down from his shoulders. Within a few thrusts her fingers clenched in the skin of his ass and Bates lifted her hips enough to send her vocal appreciation up another octave.

Anna broke when Bates returned loving attention to her breasts and he followed her over the peak soon after. He adjusted himself to lay at her side, a hand over the bump of their child with her hand over it. In the light of the candles and the fireworks display outside the window Bates leaned close to his wife's ear, "Happy Anniversary."

She turned enough to see him, running a finger down his cheek before kissing him quickly, "Happy Anniversary love."

Bates pulled her closer, keeping an arm around her as the world celebrated surrender.


End file.
